Star Wars (Starring the Doctor): The Clone Wars
by blade0627
Summary: The Clone Wars have broken out all over the galaxy, and it is up to the Jedi Order to lead the Republic's Clone Army into battle! At the forefront of the war is the Doctor, leading his elite squad of ARC Troopers known as the Muunilinst Ten. The Doctor will be tasked with many hardships in this war, not the least of which is a showdown with his own Dark Side! I do not own DW or SW.
1. Galactic War

Prologue: Galactic War

The galaxy was at war. The First Battle of Geonosis marked the beginning of what would be known as the Clone Wars. Millions upon millions of Republic soldiers, all of whom were clones of the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett, were pitting themselves against millions upon millions of battle droids waving the flag of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Leading the Republic Army in its campaign to restore order in a chaotic galaxy were the Jedi.

At the head of the Jedi Order, there was its Grand Master, a Gallifreyan Jedi known as the Doctor. He and the rest of the Jedi Order were thrust into positions of military leadership. Many Jedi were now known as "General" instead of "Master Jedi." The Jedi who had survived Geonosis were often thrust into the galaxy to fight in long campaigns to either defend against the Separatists or force them from an occupied world. They were often given legions or a corps of clone troopers to command. Obi-Wan Kenobi was assigned the 7th Sky Corps. Mace Windu was assigned to the 91st Reconnaissance Corps. The Doctor himself chose no corps, but he was instead given tactical command of an elite squadron of Advanced Recon Commandos who would come to be known as the Muunilinst Ten. Yet, even with these clones and the Jedi leading them, more and more planets were slipping into the evil Count Dooku's grip. Still, the Jedi had Anakin Skywalker, who was growing stronger each day.

The Jedi Order lost many distinguished members on Geonosis, and they would continue to lose many distinguished members throughout the Clone Wars, right up until the end, when the Sith finally made their move that would very nearly destroy the Jedi once and for all.

This is the story of the Doctor during the final and most devastating war ever fought by the Republic, and the last years of the Jedi Order as he knew it.


	2. Muunilinst

Chapter One: Muunilinst

Muunilinst was among the first of the more major Clone Wars campaigns, and it was one of the campaigns in which the Doctor had a personal hand. Four months after the Battle of Geonosis, he, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Obi-Wan's Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, were discussing the reasons to invade Muunilinst with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the leader of the Republic, in his office.

"The Banking Clan holds Muunilinst within its grip," explained Obi-Wan. "They are using factories building huge droid armies and massive warships there. In order to greatly weaken the droid army, we must stop them."

"I agree, Master Kenobi," said the Chancellor. "But who might we send to lead such a campaign? Master Fisto is bogged down on Mon Calamari, Master Unduli is travelling with her Padawan, and Master Windu still battles on Dantooine."

"My good friend Obi-Wan here can lead the assault," said the Doctor cheerfully.

"My army is ready, Chancellor," said Obi-Wan, empowered by the Doctor's confidence in him. "The 7th Sky Corps can leave immediately."

"Yes," said Palpatine, a bit too silkily for the Doctor's taste. "Might I suggest that you take young Skywalker as well and give him special command of your space forces." Anakin seemed to glow at his friend, Palpatine's insistence that he actually lead part of a campaign. "His remarkable skills as a pilot will no doubt be most useful to the Muunilinst campaign." Anakin practically radiated happiness. Unfortunately, that was to be cut off by Obi-Wan.

"Forgive me, Chancellor, but I do not feel that Anakin is ready for such a responsibility," he said. The Doctor could visibly see Anakin's face fall from a jubilant smile to a malevolent glare. The Doctor knew what he was feeling. Anakin thought that Obi-Wan was holding him back.

"Anakin, Obi-Wan's right," said the Doctor gently. "A Padawan should remain with their Master. But, Obi-Wan, you can't deny that your Padawan is exceptionally strong with the Force." Both Anakin and the Chancellor smiled at that, but Obi-Wan merely nodded. The Doctor couldn't understand why he was so unwilling to acknowledge the fact that Anakin was indeed powerful.

"Perhaps-" the Doctor began.

"It is settled, then," interrupted the Chancellor. "Anakin will lead the space forces while Master Kenobi takes command of the ground forces." The Doctor sighed in frustration at Palpatine's rather rude interruption. Of course, the Doctor went along with the Chancellor's directive, but only just. He and Obi-Wan shared a look that told the Doctor the younger Jedi Knight was equally frustrated by Palpatine.

The Doctor and Obi-Wan rose and exited the Chancellor's office, followed closely by Anakin. They took a speeder down to the Republic Fleet's staging area on Coruscant, where the Jedi and the 7th Sky Corps prepared for their mission to Muunilinst. The Doctor spoke to Obi-Wan briefly before the Acclamator-class warships started their engines.

"If there's anything I can do to help you on Muunilinst, I will, Obi-Wan," he said.

"Thank you, Doctor," said Obi-Wan. "I believe there is something you can do. There is a large artillery cannon that will be preventing our forces from entering the capital and capturing the Separatist leadership there."

"Basically, nothing my ARCs and I can't handle," deduced the Doctor.

"Basically," confirmed Obi-Wan, smiling at the Doctor's blunt informality on the whole situation.

"I'll prep them immediately," said the Doctor. He then ran off to find his ARC troopers, and he spotted them at the barracks, cleaning their weapons.

There were ten of them in all. One captain, his armor accented red, two lieutenants, their armor accented blue, and seven privates, with regular white armor. The captain stood up immediately as soon as the Doctor entered their general vicinity, but did not salute, a personal instruction of the Doctor's.

"Doctor, sir!" said the captain, whose number was Alpha-77, but the Doctor preferred to call him by his name, which was Fordo.

"Captain Fordo," he said jovially. "Good to see you again."

"Likewise, sir," said Captain Fordo. "Do we have a mission?"

"We certainly do," said the Doctor. "Pack your bags, boys! We're off to Muunilinst!"

"Yes, sir!" said the ARCs. The ten clones followed the Doctor to one of the Acclamators, and they quickly boarded with the rest of the troops. The Doctor noticed that some of the clones looked at him and his team in awe.

"ARC troopers!" a few of them said in hushed voices. "And the Doctor! We can't lose now!"

The Doctor smiled at a few of them as he and Captain Fordo joined Obi-Wan Kenobi and his clone commander, CC-2224, nicknamed Cody, on the bridge of the Acclamator. The ship lifted off from the surface of the city-planet Coruscant, and Obi-Wan Kenobi's Republic Fleet was soon surrounded by space.

"Jump to lightspeed," ordered Obi-Wan. The deck officers acknowledged, and the Acclamator was soon surrounded by the blue swirly-wirly vortex of hyperspace, as opposed to the black depth of normal space. The Doctor stepped forward, almost pressing his face against the glass of the bridge, looking deep into the vortex. He could stare at that thing all day. His hearts raced when he was reminded of a certain Tholothian who had caught his attention years ago.

_There is no passion, there is serenity._ The Doctor recited the third precept of the Jedi Code, the one he seemed to have the most trouble with nowadays, over and over again in his head to remind himself that he and Stass Allie were Jedi, and they couldn't ever have anything beyond professionalism towards each other. Nothing more-

"Doctor?" came the voice of Obi-Wan dragging him out of his thoughts and back into reality. "Doctor? Are you alright?"

The Doctor blinked for a moment before saying, "Yes. I'm fine, thanks. Just thinking." Obi-Wan nodded in understanding. The Doctor had done a lot of thinking lately. Mostly about the war. Sometimes about Stass. Other times he focused on immortality. He had gotten a few more lessons from Mr. Voice, but he still had no idea who Mr. Voice really was, if anybody. His way of speaking just sounded too familiar to be someone he didn't know. But that seemed impossible. Nobody could cheat death, or so the Doctor thought. The Whills, whoever they were, had done it. The Jedi could, too.

Obi-Wan continued with the plan for striking at Muunilinst as the Doctor joined him.

"That large anti-aircraft gun is a two-fold defense," he said, the General in him speaking volumes. "It protects both the Separatist leaders hiding there and it prevents our gunships from landing inside the capital itself. The main group can't land inside the capital, so that's where the Doctor and his ARC squadron will come in.

"Your gunship will take you as close as it can to the gun without being shot down," he continued. "From there, you will sneak across the cityscape and take out the gun."

"What resistance can we expect?" asked Captain Fordo curiously.

"I'd imagine moderate to heavy," answered Obi-Wan. "You're going to be infiltrating the capital of a Separatist planet in the middle of a battle. I think the droids will be on at least some level of alertness."

"Agreed," said the Doctor, turning to Captain Fordo. "We'll have to be careful, then."

"Yes, sir," said the ARC Captain.

"Anything to add, Commander Cody?" asked Obi-Wan.

"I do, sir," said Cody, a regimented and strict voice, unlike Captain Fordo's, whose tone with the Doctor was a bit more relaxed. "Intelligence reports that the Gen'Dai bounty hunter Durge is leading the Separatist forces on Muunilinst." The Doctor had heard about Durge. The Gen'Dai warrior who despised Mandalorians with a passion. He had a particular grievance with Jango Fett, and he joined the Separatists at the beginning of the war when he found out that the Republic Army was comprised almost entirely of clones of Jango Fett. The Doctor feared for all the clones if Durge was commanding a Separatist army.

"We'll make sure to avoid him, then, as well," said the Doctor.

"Good," said Obi-Wan. "I'm sure we could all use some rest. We've got a long day ahead of us."

"Couldn't agree more, Master Obi-Wan," said the Doctor cheerfully. "Come on, then."

"Sir," said Fordo as he followed the Doctor out of the bridge and into the ARCs' personal quarters that they shared with the Doctor on occasion

At the sound of the door opening and the Doctor and Fordo walking in, the nine other ARCs stood at attention, but as per the Doctor's instructions, did not salute.

"At ease," said the Doctor. He could see that they were idly passing the time by playing dejarik or cleaning their helmets. He stared at the nine identical faces and wondered if they knew he was the one who killed their progenitor. They probably did, but they still held the Doctor in the highest respect, for he treated his clones like people, not toys. He valued each and every one of their lives, even though he knew that they could die at any second due to the nature of their missions.

"Do we have a mission, boss?" said one of the privates, Able.

"We do, Able," said the Doctor. "We're taking down an anti-aircraft gun."

The ARCs all "oohed" and "aahed" in sarcastic wonder. The Doctor smiled at them.

"This is the key to the Muunilinst effort," said the Doctor. "Without us, Obi-Wan's forces can't infiltrate the capital and capture the Separatists holed up there. And we're always eager to help out old Ben, aren't we, boys?"

"Yes, sir!" said the ARCs with enthusiasm, more for killing droids and helping out their Jedi commanders than for Muunilinst itself.

"Excellent!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Well, you boys better get some rest. We've got plenty to do once we arrive at Muunilinst."

The ARCs packed up their dejarik board and stored their weapons as they prepared to rest for a little.

"We've got a cot saved for you, Doctor," said one of the ARC lieutenants, Bond. "We can get it out for you if you'd like, sir."

"No thanks, Bond," said the Doctor. "I'll just sleep in the general's quarters today."

"Of course, sir," said Bond. The Doctor was, of course, lying to them. He didn't plan on sleeping anytime soon. He hadn't heard from Mr. Voice in a month, so he saw no reason to rest his eyes for even a moment, especially when there were more pressing matters at hand, like the impending invasion of Muunilinst. He would resume lessons with the disembodied voice when said voice felt it necessary to call on him. For now, the Doctor would not sleep.

A chirping sound erupted from his pocket, and the Doctor pulled out his holoprojector. He was getting a call. From whom, he had no idea. He answered it, and the holoimage of one Stass Allie appeared before him. His hearts skipped a beat as she smiled brightly at him.

"Thought you could leave without saying goodbye, did you?" she asked sarcastically.

"I do that on occasion," joked the Doctor, even though it was partially true.

"I heard you and your team were helping Obi-Wan out on Muunilinst, and I wanted to wish you a safe mission and even safer journey home," said Stass, smiling shyly now.

"You speak as if you know I'm coming home," said the Doctor.

"You're the Doctor," said Stass. "You always make it home."

"Not all the time," muttered the Doctor, remembering all too well the golden light and the pain that came with it.

"What was that?" asked Stass.

"Nothing," lied the Doctor. "I'll be sure to see you again, Stass. I promise."

"You'd better," joked Stass before letting out a giggle that made the Doctor's hearts soar. The Doctor couldn't help but grin as he cut off the connection and wandered back to the bridge, meeting Obi-Wan and Commander Cody there.

"General on deck," said Cody, snapping to attention and saluting. The Doctor smirked, finding it odd that clones still saluted him, even after four months of being around him.

"Do you want to tell him?" asked the Doctor to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan smirked as well and put a hand on Cody's rigid shoulder.

"He doesn't actually like being saluted," said Obi-Wan. Cody looked confused for a moment before relaxing himself and apologizing to the Doctor for not obeying his indirect order from the beginning.

"Not to worry, Commander," said the Doctor. "How far are we from Muunilinst?"

"Still a good distance," said Obi-Wan. "Why don't you rest for a moment, Doctor?"

The Doctor was about to put up an argument, but then he saw Obi-Wan's concerned expression. It was the concern of those who thought the Doctor had too much on his mind. He had seen it with Mace Windu and Plo Koon, now Obi-Wan. They felt that he was too stressed with the war, and that he should rest. The Doctor, instead of arguing, usually rested as they said. It was no different with Obi-Wan. Despite his lie to Lieutenant Bond, he could not quite bring himself to lie to Obi-Wan.

"Very well, Master Obi-Wan," he said. "I'll do that."

The Doctor quietly left the bridge and headed back to the general's quarters. He could catch a few winks there. As he rounded the corner closest to the quarters, he felt the sudden weight of all the days he had spent awake. He needed this, he told himself as he climbed into the military-style bunk and drifted off. Just before sleep took hold of him, he heard only one thing.

_He is the Chosen One_. The Doctor thought it sounded like something Qui-Gon Jinn would say.

* * *

The Doctor awoke, refreshed from his excursion into the realm of sleep. When the ship dropped out of hyperspace in the Muunilinst system, he met Captain Fordo and the ARCs, in full armor, at the hangar bay, and they stood with their personal gunship, waiting for Obi-Wan's troops to start loading up for battle. The Doctor saw Anakin tinkering away at his more advanced Delta-7 Aethersprite starfighter. He smiled at the Padawan, noting to himself that he was always on the move.

Obi-Wan's troops started to filter into the hangar, and the Doctor's team boarded their gunship. Their pilot prepped the systems as troops filed past into other gunships. The Doctor went over the plan with the ARCs one more time, and they committed the plan to memory.

Obi-Wan boarded a gunship with Commander Cody and a trooper squadron. As Anakin and his battalions of V-19 Torrent starfighters lifted off from the fleet of Acclamators to take on the enemy space stations orbiting the planet, he gave the order.

"All gunships descend!"

The gunships poured out of the ships. A swarm of them invaded the planet with speed and ferocity. The Doctor and his ARCs were right in the middle of it, silent as they waited for their objective to surface itself. All they needed was General Kenobi's order.

"Doctor, whenever you're ready, you and your ARCs may deploy," came the voice of Obi-Wan through their gunship's communication system.

"Copy that, Obi-Wan," said the Doctor. "Pilot! You heard him!"

"Yes, sir," said the pilot. The ARC gunship soon broke off from the main group, and headed towards the capital city from a more secretive route.

As explosions boomed over the northern end of the capital city, the Doctor's gunship secretly entered the southern end of the city.

"Ready, Captain Fordo?" asked the Doctor.

"Born ready, sir," said Fordo.

The gunship wove its way through cityscape while the Doctor reached out with his heightened senses to look out for any enemies who may try to shoot them down. He soon saw legs running up stairs. Battle droid legs. In its hand was a rocket launcher that could easily take down their little gunship.

"Boys, we're about to be shot down," warned the Doctor. "Might want to strap yourselves in."

The ARCs magnetically locked their boots to the gunship interior while the Doctor wrapped himself in a Force Aura that protected him from attacks for a short time. The gunship then experienced a lurching sensation as a rocket impacted with its posterior. The Doctor, Captain Fordo, the ARCs, and even the pilot remained calm as the gunship crashed into the city. With a crash, a boom, and a bang, the burning gunship came screeching to a halt, its wings completely gone.

"Everyone alright?" asked the Doctor.

"Pilot's dead, sir," said Lieutenant Bond after he checked on him. The Doctor felt a pang of sadness for their dead comrade, but he wouldn't have wanted anything more. He knew what he was getting into, the Doctor told himself.

"Okay. Everyone out," said the Doctor. "No sense sticking around here."

The ten ARCs and the Doctor quickly jumped out of the gunship, ready for anything. The Doctor took out his lightsabers, switching his main saber into its combat position. Captain Fordo crept up to the edge of the gunship and, seeing no droids around, ushered the others over, saying that it was all clear. The Doctor and the ARCs established a perimeter around the gunship, and they prepared to move out.

Just before they could, shots rang out from above. The Doctor quickly activated his lightsabers and deflected any bolts that came his way. It soon became clear that they were surrounded by battle droid snipers. One of the ARC privates, Mammoth, was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of blasterfire. He was hit twice in the chest before he went down. The Doctor, realizing that Lieutenant Bond was now exposed, ran over to give him some cover. He soon figured out that if they stayed where they were, they couldn't get a clear view of just how many droids there were.

"Get back behind the gunship!" ordered the Doctor. The nine remaining ARCs and the Doctor dashed behind the wrecked ship. While the ARC privates and ARC lieutenants continued firing, the Doctor spoke with Captain Fordo.

"We need to find out how many there are!" he said.

"Yes, sir!" said Fordo. The Doctor then watched the mastery of Captain Fordo's grip on efficient command. "Kaz! Ray! Provide some cover fire!"

The two ARC privates rushed forward and began firing at the droids, keeping them at bay while Captain Fordo issued more orders.

"Decker! Scan the area! Find out how many droids are partying with us!" he commanded.

Private Decker brought out a large scanning instrument and tuned it to find droids. Within seconds, he was reporting back to Captain Fordo.

"Sir, we've got droids in these two buildings right here," he said, pointing them out to Fordo as he said it.

"Bond! Use your rocket launcher!" ordered the captain. The Doctor watched as Lieutenant Bond fired several rockets into the buildings that Decker had pointed out, utterly obliterating the droids inside. The firing ceased, and the Doctor patted Captain Fordo on the back.

"Good work," said the Doctor.

"Thank you, sir!" said Captain Fordo, a bit of pride in his voice.

The ten remaining men journeyed onward towards the anti-aircraft gun, staying alert for any droids. The Doctor and Captain Fordo led the way through the capital city. They came across no distractions after the droid assault that killed poor Mammoth until the Doctor heard something.

"Stop," he ordered, holding his hand up for emphasis. "Can you hear it?"

The Doctor's heightened sense of hearing told him that a Separatist Armored Assault Tank was approaching them. The ARCs instinctively spread out to cover more ground and to separate themselves should the tank's main cannon decide to use them for target practice. The Doctor's lightsabers flew to his hands and activated. Captain Fordo's blaster pistols were at the ready. The ARCs trained their blasters on where the Doctor's eyes invariably stared.

Sure enough, an AAT slowly made its way across the street. The pilot noticed the Doctor and the ARCs and fired a laser blast right above their heads. The explosion behind them nearly knocked Private Varn off his feet.

"Keep it occupied!" ordered the Doctor. "I'll take it out from behind!"

"Yes, sir!" acknowledged Captain Fordo.

The Doctor jumped high into the air, so high that he could see Obi-Wan's forces pushing at the Separatists on the northern edge of the city, and landed right on top of the tank, using the Force to cushion his impact. He stabbed into the tank's hatch, forcing his way inside. Once there, the Doctor pushed random buttons, anything that looked either, big, red, important, or a combination of any of those three. Once he was done fooling around, the Doctor leaped out of the tank, just in time for it to explode behind him. He landed, brushed himself off, and hooked his lightsabers to his belt as if nothing had happened.

"Well, come on, keep up, keep up," the Doctor joked as he walked along the street.

"Woah," he heard one of the ARCs say. The Doctor smirked as they continued their path to the gun. Captain Fordo sent up a probe to determine the gun's exact location, as the team could tell that the booms sounding off like gunfire became louder and louder as they moved through the city.

The probe rotated, its view represented on a holoprojector in Captain Fordo's hand. The hologram stopped moving, and the team could see a hologram of the gun.

"This way!" said Captain Fordo. The Doctor and the ARCs moved further in the direction pointed out by Captain Fordo, and they were soon within visual range of the gun that had been plaguing Obi-Wan's forces for far too long. The Doctor could just sense the protection the gun had in terms of droids. There was a huge tower near to which the gun was perched, and that had a few droids supervising it. The gun itself had about a dozen droids patrolling the perimeter. Both the gun and the tower were elevated by a platform that extended a good hundred meters above ground.

_Shouldn't be too difficult_, thought the Doctor as he made to contact General Kenobi.

A hologram of Obi-Wan appeared on his holoprojector, and the Doctor reported in.

"This is the Doctor," he said. "We've made contact with the target."

"Very good," said Obi-Wan. "Proceed when ready." With that, the hologram deactivated.

"Move in to attack," ordered the Doctor to the ARCs. They acknowledged, and Captain Fordo attached a tow cable to the top of the platform. The rest of the ARCs did so, and the Doctor jumped up to the platform. With his shoto, he sliced a droid that had seen the cable in half while the ARCs joined him, firing their guns at the unsuspecting droids. While the Doctor, Fordo, and the ARC privates were blasting the droids guarding the gun, Lieutenant Bond and Lieutenant Jimee fired rockets at the droids in the tower. In a mere thirty seconds, the firefight was over. the Republic team had won.

"Set your charges," ordered Fordo. The ARCs acknowledged, and the eight ARCs grappled up to the gun, placing their charges as they navigated it. Once all the charges were set, the Doctor and the ARCs bounded their way up to the top of the tower. The charges were detonated as they made their way up, and the gun was destroyed in an orange and yellow ball of flame that engulfed it completely.

The Doctor and his ARCs stood at the top of the tower, watching as the Republic's remaining gunships flew right into the city.

* * *

**Hello, all! Welcome to the third volume of Star Wars (Starring the Doctor): The Clone Wars! If you didn't read on my profile, this volume will cover both the 2003 cartoon and the more recent animated show that ran from 2008-2014. I really hope you enjoy this volume! There are a lot of things in here that I'm really quite proud of, including, but certainly not limited to, the Doctor's inevitable encounter with the War Doctor, which is not a tease and is definitely happening! I wasn't trying to mess with you guys when I put the War Doctor in the list of characters. He's actually in this volume, and the Doctor does encounter him.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Clone Wars. That'll be all you get for the next ten days! :P As of writing this author's note, I'm about four-ish hours away from leaving for Paris for a week-and-a-half, but fret not, my friends! You'll get a new chapter the minute I return! This I promise!**

**Well, that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	3. Durge

Chapter Two: Durge

The Republic forces were breaking through. From what the Doctor could tell, the artillery they had brought in really made a difference. The Separatists were being pushed back. Muunilinst seemed to be in their grasp.

Then it all went south from there. The Doctor and his ARCs started hearing reports of unusually high Republic casualties along the right flank. The droids had not brought in any new tanks that could punch through that section of the attack, from what the Doctor heard. He couldn't really tell what it was that was attacking them. Whatever it was, it was heading for the artillery next.

The Doctor watched as tank after tank exploded in succession, as if they were mere pieces of paper being torn apart by the mysterious forces that now attacked the Republic. One of the clone troopers stationed with the artillery managed to get out that a fleet of swoop bikes had done this. The soldier also managed to say that it was being led by a Gen'Dai before a scream cut off his communication.

It had to be Durge. He was the one attacking those tanks. The Doctor knew it.

The team then heard a report only a few minutes later that the Republic forces had sent their own fleet of swoops, at the head of which was General Obi-Wan Kenobi. The swoops on both sides had attacked, and there were numerous casualties, both droid and clone. During the Republic counterstrike, Obi-Wan and Durge had fought one-on-one. Durge fought hard and well, but ultimately, Obi-Wan Kenobi won out, and Durge was cut in half, dead.

Even though Durge had been killed, the Doctor could still sense his malevolent presence. Why that was so, he wasn't quite sure, but he had a bad feeling about this.

The bad feeling persisted even as Obi-Wan made his arrival. Still, the Doctor prepared himself for the end of the battle for now. They were going to capture the Separatist and force them to surrender. They had to be focused, ready for anything.

"Master Obi-Wan, we're in position," said the Doctor. "We'll infiltrate at your command."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Obi-Wan. "Let's end this."

The ARCs burst into the Separatist control room through the ceiling. There, the Doctor could see battle droids, Neimoidians, and a few Muuns, including noted Separatist leader San Hill. They were cowering in fear even before the droids were destroyed. After seeing the powerhouse that was the Muunilinst Ten, they were downright terrified. Not even the droidekas could stop the assault, for they were felled by the double-team of the Doctor and Obi-Wan. The two Jedi hacked and slashed their way through the droids, leaving nothing of them but scrap and useless parts. The Muuns and Neimoidians cowered in fear. Captain Fordo brought San Hill forward forcibly as more clones joined the Republic group in the control room.

"Generals," he said to both the Doctor and Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned to find San Hill on his knees, begging for his life.

"Please, please have mercy," he pleaded. "I am merely a banker."

"The level of mercy given to you will depend entirely on your choice," said the Doctor menacingly.

"Choice of what?" asked San Hill, nervous for the answer.

"Only your unconditional surrender," said Obi-Wan.

San Hill grumbled for a moment, but soon silenced himself. His ears perked up at a noise. The Doctor heard it, too. He and Obi-Wan activated their lightsabers once more, mentally preparing themselves for anything that came their way. The Doctor concentrated on the noise. It sounded mechanical, high-pitched. Almost like a...jetpack. The only combatant in this battle who had a jetpack was...

Durge.

As soon as he realized what the noise entailed, the fierce Gen'Dai bounty hunter burst through a pane of glass, looking completely unharmed, as though Obi-Wan hadn't just cut him in half. The clones immediately opened fire. Several dozen blasts impacted with Durge's armor, destroying his jetpack and sending him spiraling into the ground. A huge explosion engulfed the Gen'Dai as more blue laser bolts were fired relentlessly at the point where Durge had landed. Lieutenant Bond even fired a rocket into Durge. The Doctor was almost certain that Durge was dead for real this time. But there was still that bad feeling.

"Control room secured, Generals," said Captain Fordo. Obi-Wan and the Doctor continued to stare at the place where Durge had landed, wary.

"You never can be too sure, Captain Fordo," said the Doctor as his lightsabers hummed in harmony with Obi-Wan's.

The clones kept their blasters trained on the pillar of smoke that was Durge. The Doctor stared at the spot where the Gen'Dai had fallen, anticipating the armored beat to strike at any moment. The Doctor wasn't prepared for what emerged from that smoke, not even for a second.

It was Durge, but it was a far more frightening form of the Gen'Dai warrior. The true form. His armor had been mostly blown off, with the exception of his helmet, a glove, part of his chestplate, and a shoulder pad. The rest of him was a mass of tendrils, ranging in color from purple to pink to gray, that looked as though it were barely strewn together. What was worse was that Durge's tendrils could stretch to nearly impossible length at incredible speed, making it difficult to dodge him.

The poor clones who got caught in his extended reach were thrown against the wall with such force that the Doctor didn't need the Force to sense that they were dead. He knew it instantly.

Durge turned on the Doctor and Obi-Wan, firing one of his arms at the Jedi. They dodged, and Obi-Wan made to slice the hand off at the wrist, which might have actually been the elbow at some point, now that the Doctor considered it. Regardless, the arm retracted, and the Doctor saw tendril ends regrow from where Obi-Wan had cut the first ones off. Durge then leaped towards the Doctor, attacking the Gallifreyan with all his might. The Doctor jumped up on top of a holotable which displayed the entire capital city, and Durge followed him, striking at him with massive punches that would probably have triggered a regeneration, if it didn't kill him outright.

Durge was big, but he was slow as well. His size was a disadvantage to him, especially compared to the Doctor's lightning speed. He could sense the Gen'Dai's frustration as he tried to pummel the Gallifreyan into submission.

"DIE, JEDI!" Durge shouted at the top of his lungs as he smashed through the table. The Doctor heard a scream of terror as he dashed out of the way, and he soon saw San Hill crawling out from under the broken table, a bit bruised, but otherwise unharmed.

Durge stared at the Doctor for a moment, readying himself for another strike. Just as he was about to pounce, tow cables entangled him from above. The Doctor saw clones from the upper levels of the command center sliding down the cables, firing at will at the bounty hunter. Durge simply absorbed the blaster bolts as though they were nothing, his main focus on the entanglements. The Doctor watched in horror as Durge pulled at the tow cables from each side, unbalancing the clones attached to them, sending them falling to their deaths.

"NO!" shouted the Doctor. In his distraction, Durge saw opportunity. He bounded upon the Doctor. The Jedi Grand Master tried to defend himself, but it was too late. Durge had already absorbed him.

Instead of being instantly dead as he thought he would be, the Doctor was relatively unharmed. A bit grossed out, maybe, but otherwise unharmed, which meant that he could get out of Durge, so to speak. Closing his eyes, the Doctor focused all of his energy on a Force Maelstrom, one of the most destructive powers he had ever learned and one he used in only the most dire circumstances. He supposed that this counted as one of those times as Force energy swirled around him as though he were a planet. Faster and faster it revolved and collapsed into a compact and almost tangible ball of energy. Tighter and tighter the ball became as the Doctor focused more and more energy into it. It almost became too much for even the Doctor to hold.

And then, he released it.

The energy of the Force Maelstrom was so powerful that it literally ripped Durge apart. Guts, slime, and tendril parts sprayed everywhere in the control room as Durge was obliterated from the inside out. It was absolutely disgusting to watch, and the Doctor fought the urge to vomit at the fact that he was covered in Durge's slime from head to toe. He probably smelled bad, too. Breathing heavily, he recovered quickly as Captain Fordo ran over to him.

"Are you alright, sir?" asked the ARC trooper.

"I'm fine," answered the Doctor, still breathing heavily. "Thank you, Captain. Seems I've made quite the mess here, wouldn't you say, Master Obi-Wan?"

"Undoubtedly, Doctor," said Obi-Wan, smirking at the Doctor before turning to the still-cowering San Hill. "Now where were we? Ah, yes. You were surrendering."

Lip trembling, San Hill accepted defeat by putting his head on the ground and pounding his fist like a small child.

The clones cleared out with the Separatist leaders, leaving the Doctor and Obi-Wan with Durge's mask. The Doctor picked it up and stared at it, contemplating what had happened.

"Something the matter, Doctor?" asked Obi-Wan.

"I don't know, Obi-Wan," said the Doctor. "I've just got a bad feeling about this."

Somehow, as the Jedi exited the Separatist control room, the Doctor knew that it was not quite over for Durge.

* * *

**I'm back! Twas a fantastic trip to France, but I'm glad I'm back in America! Anyway, here's the new chapter! That ending was a subtle reference to the fact that Durge comes back from the dead and fights Anakin Skywalker at some point during the war (I think it's like 21 BBY or something) before being launched into a sun and finally killed. Hooray for subtle references!**

**Apologies for the really short chapter. It was a small section in the Clone Wars that I felt obligated to put in because the Doctor is on Muunilinst, and so is Durge. The later chapters in this volume will be longer. Like, a lot longer. Promise.**

**Hey, remember that Subspace Emissary novelization I talked about finishing and posting onto FanFiction? Well, that's still on the table. If you guys want me to do it, I will, but I need to know that you guys want me to do it first. If you would like it to become a thing, leave a review/private message for me.**

**In any case, that does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	4. Rescue on Ilum

Chapter Three: Rescue on Ilum

The Republic forces, for the next few days, were tasked with cleaning up Muunilinst of droids. The capital city may have been won, but there were still many other cities on the planet that needed liberating from the Separatist occupation. The Doctor and his nine remaining ARC troopers aided as much as was necessary in the cleanup, but Obi-Wan had told them to get some rest. Their actions with the anti-aircraft gun merited a reprieve from battle. To be honest, the Doctor was happy to break away from all the fighting. He had never really enjoyed fighting, only doing so when no other option was possible. Even then, he sometimes hesitated.

But he didn't hesitate when he sensed a great disturbance in the Force.

Two Jedi were in imminent peril. Who they were, the Doctor didn't quite know yet. He focused on their Force presences, reaching out to get a grasp of who was in danger. His vision of Muunilinst blurred and faded away as his vision turned to a colder, much harsher environment. The Doctor did not sense any present danger out here, not until he looked to the temple to the east. It was the temple leading to the crystal caves of Ilum. This was good. He knew where to go. But whom to save?

The Doctor reached out to the temple. He sensed droids, lots and lots of droids. Past the droids and their various scattered, broken parts, a dome of rock was being held up by the Force. Holding it up were the two Jedi he was seeking. He concentrated hard on them, sensing their identities through the Force. He sensed discipline, calm, the epitome of serenity. Clearly this one was a Master. In the other Jedi, he sensed the exact same thing, almost as if the Master had taught her as such. The Padawan. A Master and Padawan duo, then. The species. He had to sense the species. He concentrated, focusing on nothing but the dome of rock and the Jedi within. Mirialan. Both of them. The only Mirialan duo within the ranks of the Jedi at the time consisted of...

Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee.

The Doctor snapped out of his trance, moving from Ilum back to the ARCs' barracks on Muunilinst in an instant. Captain Fordo and the ARCs were idly passing the time as per the normal while the Doctor had been concentrating on finding Luminara and Barriss. Lieutenant Bond noticed the Doctor's terrified expression.

"Are you okay, sir?" he asked. The rest of the men looked at him, concerned.

"Get your coldgear on, ARC troopers," he ordered. "We're going to Ilum."

The Doctor had not approached Obi-Wan about leaving Muunilinst. He just took a ship and left with his ARCs. It wasn't long before he got a comm signal from Obi-Wan Kenobi, asking where he was going.

"Ilum," said the Doctor bluntly.

"Why in the blazes are you going there?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Call it a hunch, but I think Master Unduli and her Padawan are in trouble," answered the Doctor. "They'll be on Ilum."

"Are you sure, Doctor?" asked Obi-Wan.

"The Force is telling me this," responded the Doctor. "I might want to listen. It could be important."

"Very well, Doctor," said Obi-Wan. "Do as you will." With that, the communication ceased, and Obi-Wan's miniature hologram faded away as the shuttle the Doctor and his ARCs were using entered hyperspace.

The trip to Ilum was mostly silent. The Doctor passed the time by flitting through memories of his training. By the Force, some of those memories were over nine hundred years old. Had it really been that long? Well, the Doctor was nine hundred and ten, but he didn't feel that way. He felt as though he were still as youthful as Obi-Wan Kenobi or Anakin Skywalker. Regenerations did that to him. They made him feel younger as time went on. He could still remember when he looked like a stiff old man, a peacekeeper, and a clown, among others. Those were all his previous selves. Now, he was on his tenth life, and he wondered. What would he be like when the tenth became the eleventh? Would he be rude? Snarky? Attractive? And what about the rest of the galaxy? Would the Jedi still be immersed in the Clone Wars, or would that crisis have long past? Would they have defeated the Sith once and for all? Would the galaxy be recovering, thriving as it once did, so long ago?

Questions swarmed inside the Doctor's head, but he cast them aside for now. The shuttle was landing on Ilum's surface. It docked in a small valley hidden by mountains all around. The snow blizzarded past the ship, having more important places to go, apparently. The Doctor opened the shuttle ramp and quickly exited.

"Uh, sir?" asked Captain Fordo. "Aren't you going to wear something over your Jedi robes?"

The Doctor looked down at himself, inspecting his Jedi robes for the first time in what seemed like years. He had worn them every day since he regenerated into this new body, and that had been well over fifty years ago. They were a simple brown with a blue undershirt. The cloak, which he wore quite often, was a lighter brown that reached down to his feet. Sufficient clothing for this weather, at least for a Gallifreyan.

"Gallifreyans are resistant to extreme temperatures, Captain," said the Doctor. "I'll be quite alright against the frozen tundra."

"Yes, sir," said Captain Fordo as he and the ARCs made to exit the ship.

"I need you to stay here, Captain," said the Doctor. "I have to go alone."

"But, sir, there could be-"

"I know what's out there, Captain. It's dangerous, even for you. Besides, only Jedi are allowed in the Ilum Temple."

Fordo's shoulders seemed to sag a little bit. The Doctor could tell he was disappointed.

"If I need your help, I'll contact you," said the Doctor. "Here. Take this." He handed Captain Fordo a device of the Doctor's own invention that was shaped almost like an old-fashioned key. "This device is tuned to me. It knows me very well. If I'm in trouble, I'll reach out to it, and it will grow warmer. That's how you'll know if I'm in danger."

"Yes, sir," said Captain Fordo, accepting the key and putting it in one of his belt compartments.

The Doctor smiled when he realized that Captain Fordo was already formulating a plan to rescue him if the time called for it.

The Doctor ascended one of the mountains that he knew would lead him to the Ilum Temple. His cloak billowed with the wind, and snow got caught in his hair and face every now and again. He could barely see where he was going, but he knew he didn't need his eyes to know where he was going. He could rely totally on the Force, and it would guide him to the right path.

The Doctor's trust in the Force was placed well. After only about thirty minutes of traversing Ilum's wasteland environment, the Gallifreyan Master had found the Temple. He looked out on the Temple resolutely.

_Don't worry_, he tried to send a comforting thought to Luminara and Barriss. _I'm coming. Wait...What's that? OH! I'M THICK! I'M SO THICK!_

The Doctor's lightsabers flew to his hands. He had become acutely aware of the fact that what he had sensed earlier when he landed on Ilum had been following him. His lightsabers activated, and the blue blade of his shoto found a mark in a chameleon droid standing right behind him. His Gallifreyan eyesight saw right through their camouflage, but they must have stayed hidden from him while he was concentrating on getting to the Temple. Regardless of how they had hidden from him, the Doctor had soon destroyed six chameleon droids with the quick strikes indicative of Ataru.

Obviously seeing that their camouflage was now useless, two dozen chameleon droids deactivated their camo, surrounding the Doctor and aiming their triple blasters mounted on their chests at him. Several tense moments went by as the Doctor readied himself for a fight. The chameleon droids stood stock-still, waiting for the Doctor. The Gallifreyan's twin hearts calmed themselves, slowing their beat to almost nothing. The snow, which had flown past previously, now seemed to go by as slowly as a snail. It was a trick he had learned rather recently, while he was his ninth self. Time seemed to slow down so that he could feel each individual snowflake moving past him. He could even feel the heartbeats of the Mirialans in the Ilum Temple. The Doctor smiled for a moment that felt like an eternity when he felt it. But now was not the time to focus on that. It was time to battle.

At last, he struck.

The move was so blindingly fast that the droids' processors couldn't even calculate its speed before one of their comrades had been destroyed. The Doctor sprinted past them, waving his lightsabers almost like a madman, destroying a few as he went. Another droid appeared after the Doctor had cleared the initial group, firing at him wildly as the Doctor closed the distance. He jumped onto the droid, swinging around to hang onto its back. While that droid was trying to shake him off, the remaining chameleon droids bounded forward, blasting at him. The Doctor's main lightsaber flew from his hand and deflected the blaster bolts, seeming to have a mind of its own. In reality, the Doctor was controlling it using the Force. For the droids, it didn't make a difference, as they were still getting blaster bolts reflected back at them.

After a few seconds of that, the Doctor realized that they were gaining ground too quickly. He jumped from his chameleon droid, letting the blaster bolts from its comrades claim it as the Doctor fell from the cliff. His main lightsaber flew back to him, and he deactivated them.

The droids watched him over the cliff, none daring to take the leap. The Doctor used their hesitation to grab a gigantic chunk of snow off the mountain directly behind them. The avalanche that ensued destroyed the droids completely. Some of the snow fell over the cliffside, and the Doctor had to jump out of the way to avoid being crushed, although he could have easily pushed it away.

The Doctor's hearts resumed their normal rhythm, and he looked out onto the Temple, to which he was much closer now. He began to walk to it as the wind resumed its billowing of his outer cloak. He could still sense Luminara and Barriss, and he picked up his pace, wanting to save them as quickly as possible. When he finally reached the Temple, his cloak stopped billowing, and he felt an empty silence as he walked through the desecrated Temple. The Doctor's hearts broke when he saw the Temple in such a ruined state. Even the crystals sensed the destruction, and they had darkened as a result.

The Doctor found a large rock wall in his way and lifted it up, searching for the dome that encased the Mirialans. He threw it across the cave-like room and picked up another one. He wasn't giving up yet. Rock after rock after rock was thrown across the room in various directions like ragdolls as the Doctor continued his search. If he could sense Luminara and Barriss, he could get to them, and that gave him hope.

At last, the dome of rock became visible.

"Luminara! Barriss!" he called. He sensed the happiness of the Mirialans as they began to help him lift the dome. Higher and higher did it lift until the Doctor at last gazed upon Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee. They ran through the opening as the Doctor held it up for them. By the Force, it was really quite astonishingly heavy. He let the rocks slam back down onto the ground as he, Luminara, and Barriss dashed out of the Temple.

"Thank you, Doctor," said Luminara, bowing along with Barriss, who remained silent.

"You're quite welcome, Master Unduli," replied the Doctor. "Now, come on. Let's get back to my ship."

"Of course," said Luminara.

The three Jedi trudged through the Ilum terrain, the Doctor leading the way. The Mirialans were silent for much of the trip, which slightly bothered the Doctor, mainly because he like talking with his fellow Jedi.

"So, what happened?" asked the Doctor as they drew closer to the shuttle. "Back in the Temple, I mean?"

"Barriss was completing a portion of her training inside the Ilum Temple," said Luminara. "She had finished reconstructing her lightsaber when we were attacked by droids."

"They planted these explosive devices on the ceiling of the Temple," Barriss chimed in. "That was how we got trapped."

"Chameleon droids," said the Doctor, nodding. "I encountered them on my way to the Temple."

"Thank the Force you came when you did, Doctor," said Luminara with a rare smile on her face. "We would likely have died there had you not."

"I wasn't about to let that happen, Master Unduli," said the Doctor.

As they continued their trek, the Doctor heard blasters firing. Luminara and Barriss heard it as well, and the three Jedi activated their lightsabers. They dashed towards the sound of the blasters and found Captain Fordo and the ARCs standing over several chameleon droids, each with smoking holes in various points on their metal bodies. When Fordo saw the three Jedi, he stood at attention, and the rest of the ARCs soon joined him.

"Sir!" he said. The Doctor deactivated his lightsabers. Luminara and Barriss did the same as Private Varn kneeled by one of the chameleon droids, his hacking equipment working its magic on cracking the droid's security system to find out where they had come from.

"The Jedi are safe, Captain," said the Doctor. "But..." he trailed off.

"What's wrong, sir?" asked Captain Fordo.

"The Temple was nearly destroyed, Fordo," answered the Doctor. "I want to know who sent the droids to desecrate that sacred ground."

"Of course, sir," said Fordo. "Private Varn's working on that now. General Unduli, Commander Offee. Good to see you both safe." He saluted them, clearly thinking that they accepted a salute more than the Doctor did.

"Thank you, Captain," said Luminara. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for the Doctor."

"He tends to like saving people, General," said Fordo.

"Better believe it, Captain," called the Doctor from his place beside Private Varn. The ARC trooper was furiously working on getting the droid's head cracked. Beneath his helmet, the Doctor could sense that Private Varn wasn't even frustrated by the task of hacking the droid's systems. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself. The Doctor knew the feeling. He had always been quite fond of hacking into various computer networks. In that, he and Varn had something in common.

"Got it, sir!" called Varn. The ARCs and the Mirialans gathered around Varn and the Doctor as Varn made the chameleon droid display a hologram containing its orders.

"You will find the Temple on Ilum," said the hologram. "Destroy it." The Doctor knew instantly who it was giving the orders. The only person it could have been. Someone who knew the location of the Ilum Temple already. Someone who was once a Jedi.

That someone was Count Dooku of Serenno.

* * *

**Oh, hey, look! A new chapter! I am so sorry I didn't upload this one sooner! I honestly probably don't have an excuse for this kind of tardiness, so I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow. Anyway, hope you like this one, even if it is a bit late. *cowers behind computer screen in anticipation of righteous retribution for tardiness* In any case, we're inching closer and closer to the inevitable War Doctor chapter, and I'm really excited for you guys to read it. It's definitely going to be a doozy.**

**Anywho, hey, look! A progress report!**

**I: Finished**

**II: Finished**

**CW: Finished**

**III: Finished**

**IV: Finished**

**V: In progress**

**VI: Not started**

**As you can see, we're getting down to the wire here in Writing Land. It looks like Episode V is going to have ten chapters, plus a prologue and an epilogue. In fact, I know that that's how it's going to play out because I have a list of chapters beneath the story that details the goings-on of the story. With regards to Episode VI, I'm not entirely sure how many chapters that's going to have, but I would imagine that it would have anywhere from ten to thirteen. That seems to be the general number of chapters I have in these volumes. There are a few outliers, of course (Episode I has eight chapters, and Episode III has fifteen), but all in all, I think it's a safe bet to assume that Episode VI will fit in that general ten-to-thirteen range.**

**Speaking of Episode VI, I have a question to pose. You know how I said that in all of these volumes, the Sith would get a little section tacked onto the end or beginning of a chapter? Well, I got this idea in my head that, since Darth Sidious is the Sith Master as opposed to the apprentice like Vader, Dooku, Maul, and even Grievous, to an extent (yes, Grievous will get his own little section), he should get a full chapter devoted to him. It's not going to be anything new for me, and it won't be too new for you guys, either. Jennara Oswin will get her own chapter in Episode III, so why not give Sidious his own chapter? Anyway, let me know what you think of the idea in a review or private message.**

**Well, that does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	5. Massacre on Hypori

Chapter Four: Massacre on Hypori

Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee requested that the Doctor take them back to Coruscant, as the chameleon droids had destroyed their transport when they had arrived on Ilum. The Doctor happily granted their request, setting a course for the planet which his ARCs liked to call Triple Zero.

During the trip, the shuttle received a communication from Coruscant itself. The Doctor and Captain Fordo let it through to find a miniature hologram of Jedi Master Daakman Barrek standing before them.

"Doctor!" he said jovially. "Good to see you, old boy!"

"Master Barrek, a pleasure as always!" said the Doctor. "How did you know where to find me?"

"I contacted General Kenobi on Muunilinst," said Daakman. "He told me you had left the planet in a shuttle for Ilum. Might I ask why?"

"Pressing matters involving the crystal temple there, Master Barrek," said the Doctor. "Couldn't be ignored."

"I see. Well, I contacted you because I am in need of your help."

"What for, Master Barrek?" asked the Doctor.

"My Padawan and I have gathered intelligence that there is a large droid factory stationed on the planet Hypori," explained Master Barrek. "I've gathered up an elite task force, and I was wondering if you and your ARC troopers could be of any assistance."

The Doctor looked to Captain Fordo,who shrugged indifferently. He didn't seem to care whether or not he went to Hypori.

"My ARCs have a prior commitment on Muunilinst," said the Doctor. "I, however, am more than willing to help you in your mission. We're on our way to Coruscant now, and we should be there within the hour."

"Splendid!" exclaimed Master Barrek. "We'll be leaving in about three standard hours."

"I'll be there," said the Doctor. With that, the communication halted, and Master Barrek's hologram disappeared.

As the shuttle landed on the surface of Coruscant, Luminara, Barriss, and the Doctor all disembarked, leaving Captain Fordo and the ARCs to go back to Muunilinst.

"Are you sure you won't need us, sir?" asked Captain Fordo.

"I might, Captain," said the Doctor. "If I do, you'll know. Besides, I've taken you away from your original duties long enough."

"Understood, sir," said Captain Fordo. "But what about you?"

"Obi-Wan will understand the important nature of the Hypori mission," said the Doctor. "He doesn't need my help, anyway. Muunilinst is practically his already."

"Understood, sir."

"I'll see you, Captain," said the Doctor.

"Sir," said Fordo as the shuttle closed and took off, leaving the Doctor to walk to the hangar bay containing Master Barrek's fleet of ships. He met Master Barrek, who embraced the Gallifreyan in a brotherly hug.

"Doctor!" he exclaimed. "Good to have you on board with us. We're just starting to load our supplies onto the ships."

"Excellent!" said the Doctor.

"I imagine you want to meet the rest of the Jedi team, don't you?" asked Master Barrek.

"Oh, yes," said the Doctor. Daakman led the Doctor to his flagship's bridge, where the rest of the Jedi were housed. He recognized all of them, having taught them when they were younglings or even having trained some of them to Knighthood. There were eight Jedi on the team in all: the Doctor, Daakman Barrek, Sha'a Gi, who was Master Barrek's Padawan, Ki-Adi-Mundi, a fellow member of the Jedi Council with the Doctor, Shaak Ti, also a Council member, K'Kruhk, a Whipid Master, Tarr Seirr, Watchman for his native Cerea, and one Stass Allie. The Doctor's hearts were beating a little harder when he saw the Tholothian cousin of his friend and fellow Council member, Adi Gallia. She smiled at him, then looked away bashfully.

"What do you think, Doctor?" asked Master Barrek. "Can we do it?"

"Master Barrek, with this team, the droids won't know what hit them," said the Doctor.

The Jedi team all smiled at the Doctor's confidence in them. Stass especially beamed, her smile practically illuminating the rest of her face. The Doctor had no choice but to smile back, and he could feel his face going a bit red around the cheeks. The Jedi all departed from the bridge, each going to their separate quarters to rest up and prepare for the mission.

"I'm glad to have you with us, Doctor," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "Your tactical skills will prove most invaluable, I'm sure."

"Kind words indeed, Master Mundi," said the Doctor. "I'm glad to be here."

"Master Barrek was quite adamant that he wanted you here," said Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"So I can tell," said the Doctor. Ki-Adi-Mundi looked down in thought. The Doctor could feel his anxiety as the ships prepared for takeoff.

"Something wrong?" he asked the Cerean.

"Something doesn't feel right about this mission," answered Ki-Adi-Mundi. "I sense that an unspeakable evil will be faced here. Can you feel it?"

"I can," admitted the Doctor. In truth, he had been wary about this mission from the moment Daakman Barrek had contacted him about it, but he hadn't said anything. He was beginning to regret it.

The ships entered hyperspace on a course for Hypori. Whatever regrets or doubts the Doctor had, it was too late to act on them now.

Ki-Adi-Mundi and the Doctor went their separate ways, and the Doctor soon found himself on the bridge once again, looking out into the vortex of hyperspace. Just like when he was traveling to Muunilinst, he could have stared at the vortex all day.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked a familiar voice from behind him. The Doctor turned to see Stass Allie walking towards him, the grace of a swan about her.

"Yes, it is," he said with a smile. "Reminds me of someone." He could feel Stass's heart skip a beat at that.

"Someone from your past?" she asked, edging closer to him.

"The present," said the Doctor simply. Stass blushed a little, and the Doctor could tell that she was hoping it was her.

Closer and closer the two Jedi edged together, until their hands brushed past each other. Blushing furiously, Stass closed the gap between their hands, linking them together for a brief moment. In that moment, the Doctor felt more powerful than he ever had felt when he was alone. It was strange. The Jedi Code promoted solitude and emotional detachment as the key to becoming a great Jedi, but what he felt with Stass seemed to supercede that. Together, the two Jedi were very powerful indeed.

Unfortunately, the moment wasn't to last. The remaining Jedi on the team arrived on the bridge. The Doctor and Stass, both sensing it, broke away from each other as Master Barrek entered at the head of the team.

"All ships prepare to drop out of hyperspace on my mark," he announced.

"Yes, sir," said the clone officers piloting the Acclamators. The Doctor and Stass took their positions behind Daakman Barrek as he prepared to give the order.

"Mark!" he shouted.

The ships dropped out of hyperspace, and were instantly met with orbital mines. Several of the Acclamators were heavily damaged, and more still were completely destroyed.

"Take evasive action!" shouted Master Barrek. The Jedi braced themselves as Barrek's flagship banked a hard left to avoid some of the mines.

"They knew we were coming!" said the Doctor.

"How could they possibly have known!?" cried Sha'a Gi.

"I don't know," said Master Barrek. "But we have to stand our ground."

"We need to get past these orbital mines, or there won't be any ground to stand on!" said Shaak Ti. "But how?"

"We've got to blast them out of space! All batteries fire!" ordered Ki-Adi-Mundi. Several mines were destroyed by the laser cannons of the Republic, but it wasn't nearly enough. The Doctor felt a low rumble followed closely by the shaking of the ship.

"What was that?" cried Tarr Seirr.

"Mine hit us from below, sir!" cried one of the deck officers. "We're going down!"

The chaos of the next few minutes astounded even the Doctor's mind. Clones were dashing about, trying to get to their fighters or to their guns, somehow preparing for the fight ahead. The Jedi team was scrambling to get past the clones. All in all, Master Barrek's flagship was in utter anarchy as it descended into Hypori's atmosphere. It fell through Hypori, smoking and burning with the other ships as they found themselves staring at the droid forces.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" shouted the Doctor as the flagship impacted with Hypori's surface. The Jedi were thrown around along with the clones as the other ships impacted as well and skidded to a halt. The Doctor used the Force to smash through the glass on the bridge, and he fell from it, landing on the ship's surface and activating his lightsabers. He saw clones pouring out of the ships as the droid forces started to surround them.

The other seven Jedi jumped out of the bridge, having miraculously survived the crash, and landed on the ship's surface with the Doctor.

"Who's that?" cried Stass.

The Doctor looked to where Stass had pointed and saw a tall figure clad in white robes moving among the droids. He was moving fast, and he was moving towards the clones. As soon as he reached one of them, he activated a lightsaber and plunged it into the clone's chest, killing him instantly. The Doctor looked closer, and what he saw horrified him.

He recognized that lightsaber. It had once belonged to a Jedi.

Since the beginning of the war, there had been some unknown enemy killing Jedi and taking their lightsabers. The enemy left no trace of his existence, and the Jedi were starting to give up hope that they would ever find him.

Clearly, they had just found him.

"He's the Jedi hunter!" shouted the Doctor. "Avoid him if you can!"

The other Jedi acknowledged. They spread out in order to help the clones, but the Jedi hunter's tactics were getting the better of them. The clones were doing their best, but the super battle droids under the Jedi hunter's command were too tactically superior. They had too much of an advantage. The clones were quickly being shot down as soon as they came out of the ships.

The Doctor joined the fray, cutting down as many droids as he could, but he knew that it was over for the Republic. This mission had failed as soon as the ships had dropped out of hyperspace. They needed to get out of there fast.

"Retreat! Retreat!" called Master Barrek, who had obviously figured out that the mission had failed. He was deflecting blaster bolts left and right, but he knew there were too many droids and not enough clones or Jedi to stop them. As it was right now, the clones were getting shot down like flies in a light trap.

"Master!" called Sha'a Gi. "Come on!" Ki-Adi-Mundi and Shaak Ti grabbed the boy from behind to help him dodge a blaster bolt headed his way. Sha'a Gi continued to call for his Master as the two Council members dragged him away from the battlefield.

_Find someplace to hide, quickly_, the Doctor sent the thought to the other Jedi. He got mental nudges from all the Jedi except Master Barrek. What was he thinking?

_Doctor, this is all my fault!_ cried the voice of Daakman Barrek inside the Doctor's head. _I'm so sorry!_

_Nonsense, Master Barrek! _thought the Doctor as he retreated back to the remains of Master Barrek's flagship. _You didn't know! Now, come on!_

_I can't! I have to contact General Kenobi! He'll send help! If I don't make it back, I'm leaving you and Master Mundi in command!_

_Understood, Master Barrek,_ thought the Doctor, his hearts heavy with the impending loss of such a good Jedi and good friend.

_May the Force be with you, Doctor,_ thought Daakman. The Doctor gave him a mental nudge of acknowledgement as he hid behind a piece of rubble that had broken off from the ship.

The droids continued firing at the cruiser and at Master Barrek. The Doctor felt the fear of Sha'a Gi and Tarr Seirr. Even K'Kruhk was fearful of the Jedi hunters tactics and command of the field. Stass was worried for the Doctor, as were Ki-Adi-Mundi and Shaak Ti, who had both grown to respect the Doctor's unorthodox ways.

Sha'a Gi's fear noticeably intensified when the Doctor felt the death of Master Barrek. Hopefully, he had gotten his message out to Obi-Wan. Just in case he didn't, the Doctor reached across the stars to Muunilinst, to Captain Fordo, to the key in Fordo's belt. He touched it with his mind, and even on Hypori, in the midst of this death and destruction, the Doctor felt its warmth. There was hope yet. There was also silence. The Doctor noticed it a few moments after it had actually happened. It took him a moment to realize what that meant.

The droids had stopped firing.

* * *

**Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUN! So, you guys can probably guess what's up next. An inevitable fight in which General Grievous takes on six Jedi, including the Doctor, all at once! It's going to be very exciting and stuff, and the fight actually lasts one-and-a-half chapters, approximately.**

**That thing about the Subspace Emissary novelization that I've been talking about for a while is still on the table. I really do want to hear your opinions on that. Sound off in a review or in a private message.**

**A big thank you to user war sage for reminding me to post this chapter up. Thanks a million, sage!**

**Anyway, that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	6. The Good General

Chapter Five: The Good General

The Doctor was confused. Why had the droids suddenly stopped? Did the Jedi hunter order them to? If so, then what was he planning? The Doctor didn't really want to find out. Instead, he sprinted over to another piece of rubble, where he found Ki-Adi-Mundi and Tarr Seirr hiding.

"Doctor," said Master Mundi. "Why have they stopped?"

"I don't know," said the Doctor. "I'm not too sure I want to find out."

"Master Mundi?" called Tarr.

"Go. Go," ordered Ki-Adi-Mundi. The three Jedi made a break for the interior of the late Master Barrek's flagship. The Doctor made it inside, and he found the remaining Jedi crouched or sitting around the area, broken and defeated. Stass Allie had tears falling down her face, and Tarr Seirr tried to comfort her.

"Unstoppable," said K'Kruhk, breathing heavily from exhaustion. "He is...unstoppable."

"We've never been outmaneuvered by battle droids," said Shaak Ti. "This hunter's strategy is without flaw."

"This is the end for us," moaned Sha'a Gi. "We're all doomed."

"Our predicament is dire," admitted the Doctor. "But we shouldn't despair."

"He's right," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "We have to focus. We are Jedi. The Force will see us through."

Having taken heart in their leaders' words, K'Kruhk and Shaak Ti both smiled. Stass stopped crying and briefly hugged the Doctor, causing their collective three hearts to soar.

"Jedi!" called a voice from outside the ship. It was no droid voice, despite its tin-like quality. The Doctor figured that it must have been the Jedi hunter. The seven Jedi quickly snapped to attention. Sha'a Gi, Stass, Tarr, Shaak Ti, and K'Kruhk all activated their lightsabers and moved so that they could see out of one of the ship's many holes. The Doctor and Ki-Adi-Mundi stood stock-still, staring at the opening they had come through mere moments before as the Jedi hunter continued.

"You are surrounded," he said. "Your armies are destroyed. Your leader is dead by my blade. Make peace with the Force now, for this is your final hour. But know that I, General Grievous, am not completely without mercy. I will grant you a warrior's death! PREPARE!"

For several moments, there was silence. Pure unadulterated silence that cut deeper than any lightsaber could ever cut. Then, the Doctor heard footsteps. Mechanical footsteps. Just one pair of feet slowly making their way towards them. The others looked around, trying to get a good look at the Jedi hunter called Grievous.

"I can't see anything," said Tarr Seirr.

"That noise," commented Shaak Ti.

"He's coming," said the Doctor. "And he's alone."

"We can't face him!" cried Sha'a Gi suddenly.

"We have to try, Padawan!" snapped Ki-Adi-Mundi.

K'Kruhk and Stass remained vigilant, watching for Grievous, but they were scared. The Doctor could sense the anxiety throughout the ship's interior, especially in Sha'a Gi. The Padawan was terrified. Even Master Mundi was sweating nervously.

"It's close, but where?" asked Tarr Seirr.

"It's all around us!" cried Sha'a Gi hysterically.

"Calm yourself," said the Doctor, although he was getting nervous and jumpy as well. The footsteps were getting closer now. Louder. Grievous would soon be upon them.

"Steady," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. The Doctor could sense that Sha'a Gi was reaching his breaking point. The constant pulse of Grievous's mechanical footsteps had stopped now. Any second now, Grievous would make his entrance.

"Steady," said Ki-Adi-Mundi again, a bit more forceful this time. Now, even the Doctor was sweating nervously through his battle-torn robes. Any second now...Any second...

"AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGH!" Sha'a Gi shouted at the top of his lungs and made a break for it. The Padawan had finally snapped.

"NO!" cried the Doctor, racing after him as he cleared the entrance...

...and was crushed to death by General Grievous.

The Padawan didn't stand a chance. Underneath Grievous's white robe, red blood had started to trickle underneath as the General rose to his full height. He menacingly and wordlessly bared his metallic body at the Jedi. The creepiest thing about him was his organic eyes. This monster had once been an organic creature, but now was nothing more than a cyborg, more machine than man.

"Get back!" ordered the Doctor, activating his lightsabers and holding them at the physically superior Grievous. Instead of engaging them, Grievous bent his knees and jumped out of sight.

"Form a circle!" said Shaak Ti, seeing that as the most effective strategy. The six Jedi did so, and they began to slowly back up towards the center of the interior. The footsteps they heard now were only their own. Grievous was, once again, nowhere to be seen. As soon as the Jedi reached the center of the ruined interior, the Doctor heard lightsabers activating from above. The other five heard it as well, and they quickly moved out of the way as General Grievous landed right where the Jedi had been.

Armed with two lightsabers, Grievous became an even more formidable foe than with just one. The Doctor now got a clear look at Grievous's lightsabers and saw that they had once belonged to Master Puroth and Master Ur-Sema Du, two distinguished Jedi who had obviously been killed by Grievous during the Clone Wars. Righteous anger rising up in him, the Doctor struck at Grievous, but the General easily parried his exhausted blows. Grievous saw that the six Jedi were all about to strike him at once, so he began to rapidly spin his torso to block all possible strikes. He held them there for a moment before breaking away and striking the Doctor and Ki-Adi-Mundi directly, seeing them as the obvious threats.

Grievous was a master of unorthodox lightsaber combat, keeping the Jedi on their toes with his whirling offensive blades and using his reach to keep them at bay with defensive parries. At one point, the General was even fighting with his feet, standing on the ground with his hands like a Dug from Malastare before righting himself.

An aerial strike sent both the Doctor and Ki-Adi-Mundi out of the circle, and that was when Grievous started to gain the upper hand. The Doctor and Master Mundi jumped up to a horizontal pole jutting out from the rubble and foolishly tried to crush Grievous with the Force. Grievous dodged, and he jumped to the far wall, clinging to it and staring at the four Jedi on the floor menacingly. He rocketed back down to them, knocking Tarr Seirr, Stass, and Shaak Ti off their feet, leaving only K'Kruhk to fend off against him. The Whipid was blinded by the dust sent up by Grievous's crash, but that didn't deter the brave Master from fighting him, even though he stood little chance alone. A feint and a savagely crippling blow came the Whipid's way, and K'Kruhk was injured and at Grievous's mercy.

The Doctor closed his eyes as Grievous brought down the former lightsaber of Master Puroth upon K'Kruhk, cutting open his chest and killing him. Already the Jedi were down to five.

Shaak Ti tried launching debris at Grievous, but the General saw it and cut right through it as if it were nothing. Tarr Seirr ran to Grievous, attempting to use the cyborg's distraction to strike. Unfortunately for the Cerean Knight, Grievous saw right through it. Using a free foot, Grievous gripped Tarr Seirr's head and smashed it into the ground, crushing his skull as easily as he had crushed Sha'a Gi mere minutes ago.

Stass rushed headlong at Grievous, but the General used his other foot to stop her momentum, knocking her unconscious in the process, and throw both Stass's unconscious body and Tarr's limp corpse to the ceiling.

"NO!" cried the Doctor.

That left only a fourth of the Jedi Council to defeat Grievous.

The Doctor and Ki-Adi-Mundi jumped from their pole to help Shaak Ti in taking on Grievous. Grievous, seeing that three Jedi Masters were about to rush him, decided to spin his hands around, creating a deadly circle of lightsaber blades, keeping the Doctor, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Shaak Ti at bay. The cyborg then used the distraction caused by his blade-spinning to kick the Doctor and Ki-Adi-Mundi away. The Doctor was able to stop his motion by stabbing his lightsabers into the ground, but Ki-Adi-Mundi was not so lucky. The force from Grievous's kick sent the Cerean Master flying into some rubble, causing it to crash down on him.

"Master Mundi!" cried the Doctor. He stood rooted in horror as Shaak Ti tried her best to defend against Grievous, but the Togruta was completely exhausted. She was no match for the cyborg.

"Doctor!" she cried. "Hurry!" The Doctor rushed over to Shaak Ti as fast as he could, but it was too late. Grievous had knocked Shaak Ti's lightsaber out of her hands. It was all the Togruta could do to block the lightsaber blow. Even still, the force of the attack sent Shaak Ti flying into rubble just was it had to Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"SHAAK TI!" shouted the Doctor. General Grievous turned to face the Doctor, staring at the Gallifreyan with cold yellow eyes. The two opponents faced each other down, each with two lightsabers. For a brief, but tense moment they held each other's gaze, knowing that this was it for one of them. The Doctor didn't particularly want to regenerate, but fighting Grievous might force him to. But the Doctor had no time to think about regeneration and what it meant for him.

Grievous had launched himself upon the Doctor.

* * *

**General Grievous's introduction scene remains one of my favorite scenes in all of Star Wars. Seriously, something about one guy taking on five (six here) Jedi all at once and holding his own was just awesome to me. The lightsaber duel is probably my second-favorite lightsaber duel in the continuity, taking a close second behind Darth Sidious vs. Darth Maul and Savage Oppress in The Clone Wars Season Five. Getting to write this scene with Grievous was really fun, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**I'm not even halfway through Episode V yet, and I've already started planning what I'm going to do for Episode VI. I have the plot already in my head from my many, many viewings of Return of the Jedi, and I already know what characters I'll have/bring back. All I really need to do is figure out how I'm going to divide it up in terms of chapters. I'm kind of getting the feeling that there will be twelve chapters. I'm not sure why, but for some reason, twelve sticks out as the number of chapters RotJ will have. When I actually start writing RotJ, I'll give you the final figure in terms of chapters. We're getting down to the final phases of the story, and I am totally excited!**

**Also, sidenote: I know K'Kruhk survives in the comics, but that's a bunch of crap. It always kinda bothered me that he survived because Grievous definitely cut his chest open, then took his lightsaber. He's dead. On a happier note, the Jedi who are meant to survive this encounter do survive, so that's good.**

**Well, that does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	7. The Doctor vs the Cyborg

Chapter Six: The Doctor vs. the Cyborg

General Grievous would have been a tough opponent even had the Doctor not been completely exhausted. The fact still remained that the Doctor was in no condition to fight Grievous whatsoever. If help didn't arrive soon, the Doctor was done for.

What surprised him most about Grievous's lightsaber combat was that the cyborg didn't specialize in any one form. In fact, he often used unorthodox combat to get the better of his opponents. This alone kept the Doctor on his toes when fighting the General.

Grievous struck at the Doctor with such ferocity that he could barely fend him off. By the Force, he hit harder than an Auton. Every blow shook the Doctor's bones to the marrow. The Gallifreyan's defense was weakening by the moment, while Grievous's cybernetics offered him a near-limitless stamina. All the Doctor could really do was defend, or at least try to remotely attempt to defend. Trying to attack Grievous while exhausted was about as useless as shooting at a rock with a water pistol.

Parry after parry further exhausted the Doctor as his bones threatened to break under the pressure of General Grievous's constant attack. He had barely noticed his shoto get knocked out of his hand as he continued to defend against Grievous.

The cyborg forced him onto the ground, hammering the Doctor with more blows. The Doctor heard a SNAP! and felt an electrifying jolt of pain as the radius of his right arm almost shattered, and his right ulna fractured with it.

"AAAUGH!" the Doctor cried out in pain, distracting him from Grievous for a moment. Grievous used that moment to knock the Doctor's main saber away, leaving the Grand Master defenseless.

The General held his stolen lightsabers above his head, readying himself to kill the Doctor. The Doctor closed his eyes, preparing himself. But something happened that he didn't quite expect. He sensed a presence. It was small in terms of Force attunement, but it was powerful in terms of distance at the same time. The Doctor realized that there were ten others just like it, though two of those presences were scattered around the area. He saw General Grievous turn his head, and he turned in the same direction.

He saw eight ARC lieutenants, two of them his own, and Captain Fordo.

Captain Fordo and the ARC lieutenants started firing almost immediately at Grievous. The Doctor swerved out of the way so as not to be caught in the crossfire. He landed on his bad arm, wincing in pain as another electrifying jolt bounded throughout his body. He grabbed his fallen lightsabers and watched as the ARCs continued to pound Grievous's position with blaster fire. They were not relenting. Captain Fordo had his pistols; Lieutenant Bond had a chaingun; and several ARCs had grenade launchers and heavy rifles with which they mercilessly fired at Grievous.

But even that wasn't enough to kill him. The General was now bounding up the wall, miraculously dodging all of the ARC blasterfire. He ran all the way up to the ceiling without suffering so much as a scratch, to the Doctor's complete astonishment.

"SHOOT HIM DOWN!" ordered Captain Fordo.

But Captain Fordo didn't need his ARCs for Grievous to come down. The good General jumped down to their level once more. The Doctor watched in horror as one, two, three, four ARC lieutenants were cut down by Grievous's stolen lightsabers. He recognized one of them as one of the Muunilinst Ten, Lieutenant Jimee. The Doctor felt a pang of sadness for his fallen comrade. He hadn't known the ARC very well, but he knew that Lieutenant Jimee would be quite the loss to the Muunilinst Ten. Like the soldier he was, he would have wanted the others to carry on without him. That didn't make his loss any less significant to the Doctor.

"Backup! NOW!" barked Captain Fordo. Instantly, a Republic gunship with rancor decals burst into the open area, illuminating Grievous with its headlights. Grievous and the gunship stared at each other for a few moments, and the Doctor saw Grievous back away from the gunship, somehow sensing what the gunship had in mind for him.

The gunship opened fire on Grievous, sending him running away from the blasts that could have ripped him apart. Ninja-like, Grievous sprinted through the rubble, dodging and weaving any obstacles in his path. The Doctor watched Grievous as he ran into the gunship's sights again, whereupon the gunship fired missiles at the General, sending him fleeing even faster. Grievous was vicious, but the Doctor noted that he was also a bit of a coward, running away when the odds were not in his favor.

"Everyone out!" ordered Captain Fordo after Grievous had escaped. "Get the two survivors on board now!" The Doctor noted that he had said that there were two survivors. He could sense two being loaded onto the gunship, but the Doctor could also sense a third still in the rubble. He vaguely caught the beating of two hearts, like him, but the second heart nourished the Jedi's large brain. The survivor was Cerean, then. The Doctor made the connection instantly.

Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"No, wait!" cried the Doctor as he searched through the rubble where the Cerean Master had been kicked by Grievous during their fight.

"Sir, we don't have time! The survivors will die!" said Captain Fordo.

"There is another survivor, Captain!" called the Doctor. "We're not leaving without him!"

"Yes, sir," said Captain Fordo, relenting to the Doctor's will. The Doctor could sense a bit of remorse in Captain Fordo for some reason, but the Doctor ignored it for now, focusing only on Ki-Adi-Mundi. He would address it later.

The Doctor used the Force to pick up some of the rubble and throw it across the ruined ship with his good hand. There, he found Ki-Adi-Mundi, barely conscious, but alive nonetheless. The Doctor picked him up and carried him cradle-style all the way to the gunship. One of the ARC lieutenants, one he did not recognize, took the Cerean Master from the Doctor and laid him on a medical cot the ARCs had place in the gunship. There the Doctor could get a good view of Shaak Ti and Stass, and it wasn't pretty. Both Jedi were bleeding profusely, and the Doctor could sense broken bones in various parts of their bodies.

"We've managed to stabilize them, sir," said Captain Fordo. "They just might make it."

"They will make it," said the Doctor. "I guarantee you that."

The Doctor then gripped Stass's hand and began to heal her more major injuries using a special Gallifreyan healing technique. Golden light enveloped Stass's wounds, rapidly healing the broken and bruised parts of her body. She was still unconscious, and the Doctor dared not to wake her from her slumber. She still looked very beautiful, he remarked, even when beaten into unconsciousness. He did the same with Shaak Ti, healing her but leaving her to sleep. Even though both Jedi were made to sleep rather violently, they deserved the rest they would get.

The Doctor came to Ki-Adi-Mundi and began to heal him as well. The golden light enveloped him as his wounds were properly healed. Mundi was still barely conscious, holding onto the world of reality by the skin on his teeth, but, after the Doctor healed him, he came to fully. He tried to sit up, but the Doctor gently pushed him right back down.

"You're in no condition to do anything just yet, Master Mundi," said the Doctor. "My healing energy will do its job, but it could take some time. I'd recommend not moving much until we get back to Coruscant."

"Doctor's orders?" said Master Mundi weakly.

"Doctor's orders," confirmed the Doctor, smiling at the Cerean.

"Thank you, Doctor, for saving my life," said Ki-Adi-Mundi as he fell asleep, tired from his long ordeal on Hypori.

"Anytime, Master Mundi," said the Doctor, knowing that he had just formed a lifelong friendship with his colleague. He patted Master Mundi's shoulder, then stood and looked solemnly at Captain Fordo.

"The others?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. He just needed confirmation.

"Dead, sir," said Captain Fordo, shortly but sadly at the same time.

The Doctor nodded, his fears confirmed. K'Kruhk, Tarr Seirr, Sha'a Gi, and Daakman Barrek had all perished at the hand of Grievous. He couldn't sense them in the Force anymore. It was as though their lights had been snuffed out.

"What's bothering you, Captain?" asked the Doctor, for he could sense Captain Fordo's discomfort from earlier, when the Doctor had rescued Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"We almost left General Mundi behind, sir," said Fordo. "_I_ almost left him behind. I would have had to carry that for the rest of my life."

"But you didn't, Captain," said the Doctor. "You don't have to carry that weight."

"Regardless, sir, I still feel guilty, as though I might as well have just executed him."

"It didn't come to that, Captain. Let's hope it never does," said the Doctor. "In the meantime, we'd better be heading back to Coruscant," he added, cradling his own broken arm.

"We can take care of that arm for you, sir," offered Fordo.

"No, thanks, Captain," said the Doctor. "This hand's a fightin' hand. I'll be healed by the time we arrive on Coruscant."

"Yes, sir," said Captain Fordo. "And thank you."

"You're quite welcome, Captain," said the Doctor. With that, the Doctor sat himself down and rested, thinking about the new enemy the Republic now had in the form of General Grievous.

* * *

**Because I still wish to make up for the atrocious 11-day gap between Chapters Two and Three, and because there are some questions about the story that I really would like to answer, BOOM! Another chapter for you! We see some development in the friendship between Ki-Adi-Mundi and the Doctor, as well as some development in the character of Captain Fordo, who is awesome and will return later on in the story after TCW. Also, foreshadowing to future events *cough Order 66 cough* at the very end because I felt like using foreshadowing.**

**Now, the questions! Both are from user mboutwell7, and I'll answer them as best as I can without giving away any major spoilers or anything.**

**1. How dark will the Doctor get when Stass dies? He'll get pretty dark, I'd say. He won't fall to the Dark Side or anything, but he'll definitely be a bit more ruthless. That will come about when he genuinely wants and tries to kill Darth Sidious. He's very angry with the Sith, but also with himself, and that guilt that he feels over his inability to protect his friends actually plays a part in Episode IV.**

**2. How will Stass react to the Eleventh Doctor? Will she still love him, or will she reject him? Unfortunately, Stass will never get a chance to meet the Eleventh Doctor, as she will be dead before her beloved Tenth Doctor regenerates. That should probably give you guys a general idea of when Ten will actually regenerate into Eleven.**

**If you guys have any more questions about the story, feel free to leave them in a review/private message. I'd love to explain more of the story to you as it unfolds. I also want to hear your opinions on things! I'd like to shamelessly advertise the Subspace Emissary thing again. I don't want to shove it don your throats or anything, but nobody had given the idea a "yay" or "nay," so I don't know what you guys think of it. I like the idea, but I'm biased. I want to hear your opinions. Sound off in a review/private message!**

**Well, that does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	8. The Knighting of Anakin Skywalker

Chapter Seven: The Knighting of Anakin Skywalker

The Doctor, the ARCs, and the Jedi who had survived Hypori arrived on Coruscant via an Acclamator sent by Obi-Wan Kenobi. For his daring bravery during the Battle of Muunilinst and the Rescue on Hypori, Captain Fordo was awarded the Chancellor's Service Medal. He declined it, however, preferring to bestow it to Private Mammoth and Lieutenant Jimee, who had died on Muunilinst and Hypori, respectively, in the line of duty. The Doctor respected him greatly for this selfless act and thought that Fordo might have made a good Jedi if he were born with Force attunement.

Stass, Shaak Ti, and Ki-Adi-Mundi were taken to the Jedi Temple medical facility for recovery. The Doctor's healing powers hadn't fully kicked in on some of their injuries, so they would wait in the medbay for approximately a day to be fully healed. The Doctor himself was not taken to any facility, as his injuries were more superficial, and he had healed most of them already. Instead, he sat quietly in his chamber, sleep-meditating all he can during his hiatus from battle.

_I see you're recovering_, came a voice. Not just any voice. Mr. Voice, from whom the Doctor had been learning the secrets to being able to retain his physical form even after his final death. The Doctor had not been visited by the disembodied voice for a good while.

_Oh, hello, Mr. Voice_, thought the Doctor. _Haven't heard from you in a while. I thought you might have bailed out on me or something._

_Nothing of the sort, Doctor,_ replied Mr. Voice. _I merely figured that you were busy from the war. I have come to tell you that your lessons are nearly complete. You have only one trial left to face._

_And what would that be? _asked the Doctor excitedly.

_All in good time, Doctor, _answered Mr. Voice cryptically. _I have not come to give you your final lesson yet. The Force does not feel that you are quite ready._

_Alright, then_, thought the Doctor, a bit disappointed, but he would be patient. The Force would decide when he was ready. _What have you come for, then?_

_Allow me to show you,_ said Mr. Voice. The Doctor's consciousness was then sucked from his body by the Force. It was an instantaneous feeling, and he immediately knew that Mr. Voice and the Force were about to show him a vision. One moment all was dark in the Doctor's mind, then he was there. The vision, as it usually was with most things that happen, was hazy. It took a few moments to get into focus.

When it did, the first thing the Doctor had become aware of was the face of Anakin Skywalker when he was nine years old. He looked terrified, as though he were facing some great evil for which he was not prepared. His ears perked up, hearing some distant noise, and his face grew more contorted with terror.

"Did you hear that, Master Qui-Gon?" he stammered. The second thing the Doctor became aware of was the long-dead Qui-Gon Jinn standing next to Anakin. They were looking at a large tree on a swampy planet that the Doctor didn't recognize.

"I did, Anakin," answered Qui-Gon. "It calls to you."

"The tree calls to me?" asked young Anakin.

"It does," said Qui-Gon, nodding. The Doctor felt glad to hear Qui-Gon's voice again. It had almost been lost to him after ten years. Yet, at the same time, it felt almost...familiar. The Doctor shook the feeling off as the vision continued.

"You must enter the tree alone," Qui-Gon continued. The young boy looked at Qui-Gon, terrified and not wanting to have anything to do with the tree. The Doctor could sense that the tree had a very evil presence in his bones. If he were in Anakin's position, he wouldn't want to go in there, either.

"But I'm scared, Master," he said in a worried tone. Qui-Gon bent down to Anakin's level and put a hand on his shoulder as the late Master addressed the boy.

"You must control your fear, Anakin," he urged. "You are the Chosen One, and you must be tested." They both looked to the tree, and the Doctor could sense Anakin's fear fading with Qui-Gon's encouragement. But he still was uncertain.

"What's in there?" he asked.

"Only what you take with you," Qui-Gon answered simply. Anakin looked to the Master who was never his own, then silently walked into the tree's opening, Qui-Gon whispering words of encouragement only the Doctor could hear.

"Your final test is at hand," he said. "Trust in the Force."

Just like that, the Doctor's consciousness was shoved from the swampy planet in the vision back into his own body. The Doctor awoke with a start, and his mind began immediately whirring at the vision's implications. The Force felt that Anakin Skywalker should be a Knight. The Doctor would talk to the Council about it. He had already put in a request for a meeting to discuss the new threat of General Grievous, which Mace Windu had seconded. The meeting would take place after Shaak Ti and Ki-Adi-Mundi recovered from their injuries. He would bring up Anakin, and, if all went well, the Council would at least hear him out.

In four months, the Council had had two changes in its membership. The first was Master Kit Fisto, who was nominated to the Council after the death of Master Coleman Trebor on Geonosis at the hands of Jango Fett. The Nautolan Master had humbly declined at first, feeling himself unworthy for a position as a member of the Jedi High Council. But after much pressuring from various members of the Council, including Plo Koon, Mace Windu, and the Doctor himself, Master Fisto agreed to take up where Coleman Trebor had left.

The second change to the Council roster was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan had come a long way from his days on Naboo as a Padawan to Qui-Gon Jinn, the Doctor mused when the Council voted to accept him into their ranks. His predecessor, Depa Billaba, had fallen to the Dark Side on Haruun Kal, and Mace Windu's new lightsaber style, Vaapad, had been the cause. Mace and the Doctor quickly put a ban on the teaching of the form after they looked for a successor to Master Billaba. They suggested Obi-Wan, to which the entire Council unanimously agreed. Obi-Wan graciously accepted the nomination, and the Doctor was proud to be able to call him Master Kenobi.

Obi-Wan, Kit, and the remaining Council from before the war had convened in the Coruscant afternoon. The Doctor, still pained in his heart from the deaths of the Jedi and their clones on Hypori, let Ki-Adi-Mundi speak about the massacre.

After the twelve Council members sat down, Mace spoke.

"You wish to tell us about Hypori, Master Mundi?" he asked.

"I do," said Ki-Adi-Mundi, standing up. "It was essentially a massacre. Every clone soldier who fought there died there, and four Jedi also lost their lives in that battle. If it hadn't been for the Doctor and his brave ARC troopers, we would likely all have been killed on that planet. The droid forces were being led by General Grievous, a cyborg monster who is the Jedi hunter we've been searching for these past few months.

"After the death of Master Barrek," he continued, "the seven remaining Jedi retreated, whereupon we were engaged directly by General Grievous himself. He killed Master Barrek's Padawan, then engaged the remaining six all at once, besting all of us, even the Doctor. Now, I realize that we were all exhausted, but when was the last time someone stood up to _six _Jedi, including the Grand Master of the Order, and held his own? This threat must be dealt with."

"I agree," said Plo Koon, a good friend of the Doctor's and close confidant. "General Grievous seems to be changing the shape of the war altogether."

"Our numbers were dwindling before, and now Grievous comes about," mused Saesee Tiin, another good friend of the Doctor's who had become more vocal since the start of the war.

"We need more Knights," said Shaak Ti. "Without Jedi who have greater experience, how can we hope to defeat Grievous?"

"I know this will generate some debate," said Obi-Wan, the newest member of the Council, "but might I suggest that we promote my Padawan to Knighthood? In this time of war, the Trials might need to be forgone in cases such as his." The Doctor's ears perked up. It seemed that he didn't have to bring up discussion of Anakin's promotion. The Force had apparently let Obi-Wan do it for him. The Doctor looked to Plo Koon, who had sensed the Gallifreyan's minute movement. The Kel Dor nodded silently, feeling that Anakin's promotion was necessary as well.

"That is preposterous," burst out Oppo Rancisis, the oldest member of the Council besides Plo Koon and the Doctor. "We cannot simply set aside the most hallowed traditions of the Jedi Order!"

"But in this time of great need, why are we holding back the Chosen One?" asked Ki-Adi-Mundi, who was joined with the Doctor in his support of Anakin Skywalker.

"Whether or not he is the Chosen One is still up for debate," countered Mace.

"Palpatine has been requesting his promotion for months," said Even Piell.

"Politicians don't have any say in Jedi affairs," snapped Mace.

"He is a cunning warrior, and he's the best pilot in the Order," put in Kit Fisto.

"It's true," concurred Saesee, who was considered the best pilot before Anakin came on the scene. "I've seen that boy pull off stunts that even I couldn't do."

"He is too reckless with his gifts," pointed out Adi Gallia.

"Sometimes in the past," conceded Obi-Wan. "But we can't deny that Anakin has been through things more difficult than the Trials. Surely, he passed the Trial of Skill by defeating that dark assassin, Asajj Ventress, on the fourth moon of Yavin, and he endured a grueling Trial of the Flesh at the hands of Count Dooku. Anakin has also passed every Trial of Courage this war has given him." The Doctor nodded at Obi-Wan's praise of his Padawan, for he was right. The Doctor knew that Anakin had the potential to become one of the most powerful Jedi who ever lived. If this were the case, then why hold him back?

"It would seem that he has one Trial left to face," said Eeth Koth, a Master who was thought to be dead, but was recovered by Kit Fisto and a clone task force on Geonosis.

"Testing his spirit," said Shaak Ti.

"Facing the mirror," concurred Even Piell.

"And this is precisely what is concerning me," said Master Rancisis. "If he is to walk the path of the Jedi, his spirit must be strong, which requires discipline. Hasn't he disobeyed you from time to time, Master Kenobi?" Obi-Wan's face faltered for only a moment before the Doctor intervened.

"As I recall," he said, vocal for the first time in that meeting, "you disobeyed me as well during your youth, Master Rancisis." At this light jab, Oppo and the rest of the Council smiled, remembering their own youths and how rebellious they might have been.

_Thank you for that, Doctor,_ Plo Koon thought to him. _Young Oppo is sometimes a bit too pedantic._

_Agreed, though his opinion is still valued,_ responded the Doctor.

_Of course,_ thought Plo, a smile beneath his mask that displayed sincerity.

"This is a just debate," said the Doctor out loud. "But Master Shaak Ti is right. We need all the Knights we can. Young Anakin's career is unorthodox, and so too are his Trials. I trust in the Force, and the Force is telling me that Anakin should be Knighted. Who are we to deny the will of the Force?" The Council collectively nodded, and the Doctor lowered his head for a brief moment before continuing.

"Anakin shall be a Jedi Knight," he said.

The ceremony was to happen that very night. The Council put Obi-Wan to the task of finding Anakin, and he did so quickly. The High Council chamber was dark, and all of the Council save Obi-Wan were standing in a circle, ready for the ceremony. All eleven of them except the Doctor had their hoods up and their lightsabers at their chests. The Doctor had his shoto at his side, his main saber tucked into his belt and his hood down.

The waited patiently for Anakin Skywalker's arrival. After a few minutes, the Doctor realized that Anakin was late. The Council had requested him to be here about five minutes ago, but he still hadn't shown up. The Doctor was a bit miffed by this, but he thought little of it when he heard voices outside the chamber.

The voices were muffled by the door, but the Doctor could still hear two distinct voices. They belonged, presumably, to Obi-Wan and his soon-to-be-former Padawan. The voices were raised for a moment, then were quieter. Then, the door to the Council chamber opened, and Anakin Skywalker walked in, Obi-Wan covertly following behind him.

Simultaneously, the collective twelve lightsabers of the Jedi Council activated. The Doctor, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo Koon, Saesee Tiin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Adi Gallia, Even Piell, Eeth Koth, Oppo Rancisis, Shaak Ti, and Kit Fisto all greeted Anakin silently. The Padawan seemed pleasantly surprised at the fact that he was being promoted to Jedi Knight. He looked to Obi-Wan in something the Doctor saw as understanding. The Doctor saw Obi-Wan smile at Anakin, faintly but with a great deal of meaning.

"Step forward, Padawan Skywalker," called the Doctor. As Anakin stepped forward and bowed to the Doctor, the humming of eleven lightsabers being angled towards the ground could be heard. The Doctor raised his shoto into the air and began reciting the Rites of Knighthood. He had done this many, many times over the course of his nine hundred and ten years, but it was no less special now than it was the first time he had performed the ceremony.

"Anakin Skywalker, by the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, I dub thee Knight of the Republic." As he spoke these words, the Doctor brought his blue shoto to both of Anakin's shoulders, starting with the right, then the left. He brought the saber back to Anakin's right shoulder, then swiftly cut off the braid that had marked Anakin as a Padawan for ten years. The Doctor beamed at him, proud for his accomplishment.

Anakin Skywalker rose before the Council, a Jedi Knight at last.

* * *

**Woot! Anakin has been Knighted, which unfortunately means that he is one step closer to becoming Darth Vader. I always liked the scene where Anakin gets Knighted. As such, I felt the need to include it for that reason and for the fact that it wouldn't make sense if I just started randomly calling him a Jedi Knight without this scene happening first.**

**Several questions for me to answer in this chapter. The first one comes from a Guest user, who wants to know when the War Doctor will be introduced. I suppose that his character will be "introduced," meaning "established," in the chapter called "The War Doctor," but his very first appearance is in the end of the chapter right before that one, which I like to call the "Secret" chapter. Make of that what you will.**

**The next two questions come from user war sage.**

**1. Where did the Gallifreyans go? Short answer: They died in this universe's version of the Time War. More on that will be established in the chapter with the War Doctor, so look out for that.**

**2. Will there be any other Doctor Who characters making appearances in the story? Yes. I will reference many companions and even some enemies throughout the story, but there will be a few who make some appearance in the story. Roranicus Pond (Rory) will make a small cameo appearance later in this volume of the story. Jennara Oswin (Clara) will be a central character from Episode III onward. Also, I did write a ship into the story which I had the Doctor call the _Tardis_, so I suppose you could say that the actual, factual TARDIS makes an appearance as well. Strax also makes a very, very brief cameo in Episode V. Any other characters I have interspersed throughout the story will be mentions only. Example: One of Grievous's lightsabers will come from a Jedi named Adric. Mentions like that are thrown into the story because they could be.**

**Also, I've got a "yay" from the Guest user who asked about the War Doctor for the Subspace Emissary novelization. Let me know what you think of the idea-"yay" or "nay"- in a review/private message.**

**Well, that's about it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	9. Allegiance and Ambush

Chapter Eight: Allegiance and Ambush

The fourth month of the Clone Wars was definitely one of the most interesting, especially for the Doctor. Following the end of that month and the promotion of Anakin Skywalker to Knighthood, the Clone Wars raged on. The Doctor had taken a backseat to all of the fighting following his defeat at the hands of General Grievous. He felt a bit ashamed that he could not defeat the General, though he was completely exhausted from the battle that had taken place mere moments before that duel.

Still, he played an active role in the Clone Wars nonetheless. One of the many missions he had gone on was to a neutral moon called Rugosa to discuss Toydarian allegiance to the Republic. The Doctor was set to meet the Toydarian King, Katuunko, on the planet to discuss agreements for a Republic base on Toydaria in secret. In exchange, the Republic would protect Toydaria from any invading threats from the Separatists.

Little did the Doctor know that the Separatists also had Toydaria in mind for their own control.

When the officer on his transport ship reported that their communications were being jammed, the Doctor grew concerned, but thought little of it. He had no idea that the Separatists had already arrived on Rugosa. When the Separatist cruisers arrived, firing at the Jedi cruiser, the Doctor was definitely concerned. What if the "secret meeting" with King Katuunko was a Separatist ploy to kill him and his men? What if Katuunko had already agreed to ally with the Separatists, and he had no use for the Doctor? He couldn't sense any betrayal coming from the moon, so what was going on?

The cruiser dodged and weaved through the Separatist laser cannons, evading the much larger ships. The alarm started blaring wildly as the ship was taking more and more damage. The Doctor and the clones onboard the ship were being jerked around as the ship bore the brunt of the lasers.

"We're losing our shields, sir," said the officer.

"It's too late!" said the Doctor. "The Separatists have already released their trap!"

"Sir, I have to get you to safety," urged the officer as the alarm continued blaring.

"No, that won't do us any good. You need to retreat," ordered the Doctor. "My mission is on that moon. There I will go." As he turned to go, he added in a sarcastic call, "And I'm taking the shock troopers with me!"

"In an escape pod, sir?" cried the officer. "Those ships will shoot at anything we launch!"

"Then launch all of them," countered the Doctor with a smirk as he and the three shock troopers accompanying him got into one of the escape pods. Just as the officer said, the Separatist cruisers were firing at both the ship and the pods. Luckily, the Doctor and the shock troopers, called Thire, Jek, and Rys, had chosen the pod that the droids just couldn't seem to hit. All the others were destroyed, but the Doctor's pod made it, thank the Force.

"That was a close one," said Rys as Thire breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sir, we are out of range," said Thire.

"Yes, Lieutenant, but I can sense another trap laid out for us, presumably by Count Dooku," said the Doctor.

"Then what's our next move, sir?" asked Thire.

"We'll just contact King Katuunko," said the Doctor, thinking for a moment. "Spring that trap," the Doctor added, popping the "p." The clones looked at each other warily, even as the escape pod landed on the surface of Rugosa. As soon as they disembarked, Lieutenant Thire contacted King Katuunko on his personal communicator.

"This is King Katuunko of Toydaria," he said when his hologram appeared on Thire's communicator. "Speak."

"The Doctor would like to speak with you, sir," said Thire. The clone Lieutenant handed the communicator over to the Doctor, who greeted Katuunko with a wide grin.

"Hello, King Katuunko," he said rather loudly. "Lovely to see you and hear your voice. I'm the Doctor."

"If I might ask, Doctor who?" asked Katuunko with a dry grin on his face.

"Ha!" exclaimed the Doctor. "I get that more often than you might think."

"Master Jedi, I thought that Count Dooku's droids had perhaps scared you off," said Katuunko.

"Well," said the Doctor. "I was sort of delayed. I wasn't really notified that Count Dooku was invited to our little tea party."

"The Count invited himself," said Katuunko bluntly.

"Oh, boy, if I had a credit for every time I heard that," muttered the Doctor instantly, just loud enough so that Katuunko could hear it. The clones heard it as well and smirked at their commander's wit.

"Count Dooku assures me that his droids can offer better protection for my planet and people than your clones and Jedi," said Katuunko.

"See, that's where the debating starts," said the Doctor. "Who's better at protecting people? Clones or droids? It's all that political mumbo-jumbo that I just can't stand."

"Your Majesty might prefer more than words," said a third voice. The voice belonged to Asajj Ventress, the assassin Anakin Skywalker had bested on Yavin IV. She had survived and was back in action with the Separatist Army.

"What do you have in mind, then?" asked Katuunko.

"If the Doctor is as powerful as you might believe him to be, let him prove it," said Ventress. "Allow me to test the Doctor with my best droids. If he evades capture, join the Republic. But should my troops defeat the mighty Doctor, consider an alliance with the Separatists."

"I did not ask the Doctor to meet with me simply to test him in a fight," said Katuunko, appearing incredulous that Ventress would even suggest such terms.

"No, it's okay, your Majesty," said the Doctor. "I accept this challenge. How hard can it be, really? Ventress over there has-what? A thousand droids, give or take? I've got three clones and two lightsabers. This'll be cake. I'll arrive by nightfall." With that, Lieutenant Thire cut off the transmission, and the Doctor and the clones prepared themselves for the coming fight. The Doctor took the time to look out at the scenery provided to him by this moon.

"Rugosa is quite beautiful, isn't it?" he asked. "I ought to travel here more often." Just then, a Trade Federation Landing Ship flew overhead and landed in a clearing just south of where they were right now.

"There's gotta be a full battalion," cried Rys. "Probably packing some tanks, too."

"We'll have something for them," said Jek, brandishing a heavy chaingun in a way that reminded the Doctor of Lieutenant Bond of the Muunilinst Ten.

"That's all good and well, but carry only what you need," said the Doctor as he began to walk in a direction that wasn't towards King Katuunko and Ventress. "Too much weight's going to slow you down, and it's not going to help you destroy Ventress. Well, don't just stand around! Come on!"

"Uh, sir, the rendezvous point is that way," said Thire, pointing towards where he thought the Doctor should be going.

"Oh, I know," said the Doctor. "But the droids are there, too. The easiest path isn't always one of strict progression. Sometimes you've gotta be...wibbly-wobbly. Today, we're going to be wibbly-wobbly, Lieutenant."

"Uh, sure thing, sir," said Thire. "Come on, boys." Thire, Jek, and Rys then joined the Doctor on his walk.

Along their walk, the Doctor and the clones came across the first wave of enemies, a group of tanks and a few droids, while hiding in the trees. The tanks began to lob off shots at them, and the clones raised their weapons to fire back.

"No, no," said the Doctor. "We're not in range." The clones lowered their weapons. The Doctor and the clones then watched one of the tanks try to break through the opening in the trees, but it was too big to follow.

"Ha!" the Doctor exclaimed. "See? Size isn't everything! Look at the droids! They're too thick to follow us! Hear that, droids! You're thick! You're Thick Thickity Thickface from Thicktown, Thickania!" He turned around, but then added, "And so's your dad! Come on, boys."

"Do you have any idea what he's talking about?" asked Jek, almost in a hushed whisper. The Doctor smirked at the clones' seeming inability to comprehend his manic behavior.

A short while later, Lieutenant Thire reported that droid patrols were moving towards them. The Doctor suggested that they ambush the droids, to which the clones heartily agreed. They waited until the droids marched by them. When they did so, Rys blasted two of the droids, then the Doctor ran out to distract them from Rys as the clone made his escape.

"Look! Tall and skinny life form!" said one of the battle droids.

"It's the Jedi!" said another. "Ventress was right. He is kind of handsome. BLAST HIM!" The droids started shooting at the Doctor, who was a bit creeped out by the fact that Ventress thought him handsome. After using some rather deceptive tactics, including but not limited to jumping on the droids and getting in between two and letting them shoot each other, the Doctor walked off to find where Thire, Jek, and Rys had gone off to.

He soon found them pinned down by super battle droids. Thire's leg looked wounded, at least from what he could tell behind the super battle droids.

Regardless of the extent of Thire's injury, the Doctor jumped in between the clones and the droids, activating his lightsabers and deflecting the droid lasers, even hitting a few of them as he gave the clones time to retreat. They hid behind a large rock jutting out from one of the cliff walls surrounding them, and the Doctor followed them, sitting down in a meditative pose. He already had a plan.

"What's he doing?" asked one of the clones. The Doctor thought it was Jek, but he wasn't sure. He grabbed one of the lead super battle droids, hoisting it up into the air.

"Hey! What's going on?" it cried as the Doctor turned its guns on its comrades. He destroyed several of the super battle droids using this tactic before pushing the remaining droids away with the Force, destroying them in the process as well.

"You really saved our necks there, sir!" said Thire.

"I don't leave anyone behind, Lieutenant," said the Doctor. Just then, the Doctor heard the familiar sound of droidekas rolling in to ambush them. Reactivating his lightsabers, he met the droids head on, deflecting any laser bolts that came his way with blinding speed.

"Get out of here! Find a safe place! I'll cover you!" he ordered. The clones obliged, and the Doctor continued to deflect blaster bolts. The speed with which he fought was so fast that even some Jedi would have trouble comprehending his movements. Even still, the droidekas fought back ferociously, their shields being the major problem.

_Just when I thought this would be an easy mission_, he thought with disdain as his quick brain formulated a strategy for defeating the droidekas. His eyes caught large tree-like structures right above the droidekas. Throwing his shoto, he knocked one of the trees loose at its weakest point, sending it falling on top of the droidekas. The tree crushed the droidekas, and the Doctor deactivated his lightsabers and dashed off to reunite with his clones.

After he caught up with them, Lieutenant Thire's communicator chirped. They had an incoming communication. The Doctor took it, and up popped a hologram of King Katuunko.

"Doctor," he said. "I hear you are having some trouble with the droids."

"Your Majesty, I have no idea what you're talking about," said the Doctor. "Ventress must be making things up again. I'll still be meeting you when I said, and I look forward to it." Suddenly, the communication was cut off, and the Doctor and the clones trekked forward. The Doctor saw Rys carrying Lieutenant Thire, whose leg was wounded quite badly, and he decided to make camp in a small cave system where the droids would not think to look.

"Are you sure about this, Doctor?" said Thire.

"Your leg looks pretty bad, Lieutenant," said the Doctor. "You need some rest. We all do." The clones, noting this change of seriousness in the Doctor, followed him into one of the caves. It wasn't much, but it was big enough to hold all four of them, and that was what the Doctor was looking for.

The cave was dark, so Rys turned on the lamp that Jek had stored in his pack from the pod. The Doctor took Thire's weapon, and Thire himself rested his wounded leg while Jek checked for what ammo they had left.

"Not much to spare," he said. "Two grenades and one rocket for the launcher."

"Just that? Against a battalion?" scoffed Rys. "We've lost already."

"Are you sure?" asked the Doctor, activating his main saber for a moment. Taking into account the length of Thire's weapon and Thire's height up to his arm, he chopped the weapon up accordingly. He made a small indent with his lightsaber, then stuck the two pieces of gun together to create a makeshift crutch.

"Maybe you should go on without us, sir," suggested Thire while the Doctor made the crutch. "Let us slow them down."

"We will do no such thing," said the Doctor, keeping an air of calm amid the desperation of the clones as he handed the crutch to Thire. "Everything we need to survive is all around us."

"Sit down," said the Doctor. "Remove your helmets. I want to see all of your faces."

"All due respect, sir, but we all share the same face," said Thire.

"That's true," said the Doctor. "But each one of you is unique. Very different beings. Especially in the Force. Your eyes deceive you, and you can't perceive the difference. But I can."

The Doctor hopped down from his rock and came to Rys. He put his hand on the trooper's shoulder.

"Rys," he said. "You're always focused on the enemy. But for inspiration, always look to yourself and those beside you." Rys smiled at the Doctor's wise encouragement.

"Jek," the Doctor addressed the next trooper. "You are concerned with weapons." Closing the pack's flap, he added, "Weapons don't win battles. Your mind, however, will. It's a powerful tool, and with it, you can outthink the droids easily."

"Thire," said the Doctor, putting his arm around the Lieutenant. "Don't rush into a fight. This war is going to be very long, and you will only prevail by surviving it." Moving back to his rock, the Doctor addressed all three clones.

"You may be clones of the same person," he said, "but there is a uniqueness in the Force within all of you. You can use it to quiet your mind."

The clones all beamed at the Doctor, realizing that he was right. The Doctor beamed back, knowing that their new knowledge would be put to good use, especially right now.

The rumblings of droids marching below them sounded, and the Doctor and the clones rushed out of the cave to see a patrol of droids and three tanks marching through the valley. Rys and Jek spied on them for a little while the Doctor waited for Thire to catch up.

"Tanks!" cried Rys. "Is that the best they've got?" Clearly, he had learned from the cave, the Doctor noted.

"Yeah, but I've only got one shot," warned Jek.

"You don't need to worry about that, Jek," said the Doctor. "I'll go down there and play with our new friends."

"Sir, you're not actually thinking about engaging all those droids by yourself, are you?" asked Thire, obviously not wanting his commander to conduct a suicide mission as he thought this to be.

The Doctor simply chuckled.

"I've got you three," he reminded Thire. "They really don't stand a chance. You'll know when I need help." With that last bit of advice, the Doctor leaped down in front of the lead tank and sat down, centering himself as the tanks blocked his escape route. Every droid there aimed its blaster squarely at the Doctor.

_Oh, you silly droids_, thought the Doctor with a smile. _You never learn_. The Doctor's ears perked up as soon as he heard Ventress scream the order to her droids over the lead droid's communicator.

"SHOOT HIM NOW!" she screamed.

"FIRE!" shouted the lead droid.

The Doctor shot up as fast as lightning, dodging the tank blast that easily could have ripped anyone apart. Jumping high into the air, he came crashing back down, activating his lightsabers. The Doctor began skewering the droids. They didn't even stand a chance.

He slid his way underneath one of the tanks, using the Force to propel himself. He stabbed his main saber into the underbelly and cut a circle out from the metal. He quickly destroyed the three droids that were working the tank, and he then used it as a sort of shield as he planned his next move, deflecting blaster bolts and redirecting them at various droids.

He had it. The Doctor jumped off the tank, cutting through even more droids on his way to the next tank. He stabbed, sliced, and deflected, utilizing the acrobatics of Ataru mixed with the blaster-deflecting capabilities of Shien, and a little bit of Jar'Kai on the side. At last, he reached the main cannon of the second tank. He grabbed onto it, and stared down the barrel. He then quickly jumped away as it fired, destroying not the Doctor, but the third tank instead.

He jumped back onto the second tank, quickly cutting a hole into the top hatch and sending the main gunner flying through the air. He jumped off, then began to slice up the remaining ground troops. Droid after droid fell to his whirling blades, none standing even a remote chance of defeating the Doctor. Once all the groundlings were destroyed, the Doctor once again slid underneath the second tank, this time simply cutting a straight line through its bottom. When he got out from beneath the tank, its anti-gravity repulsors failed, and the tank was destroyed.

That was when he saw them. More droidekas. And the Doctor didn't have weird tree things to knock down this time. Great.

Activating their shields, the droidekas shot right at the Doctor. The Gallifreyan deflected their blaster bolts with ease, waiting for the clones to help him, for this was the time. Thire was smart, the Doctor noted. He'd find a way.

And find a way he did. A Republic rocket came flying across the sky, impacting with a rock face right above the droidekas. The rocks that came down upon the droidekas destroyed them instantly, and it was at that moment that the Doctor knew that he and three clone troopers had won the little contest set up for them. He found one of the rocks on which to sit, and he did so cross-legged as Thire, Jek, and Rys, came down from their cliffside to meet him.

A little bird came down to rest on the beaming Doctor's finger as the clones came up to him.

"Tell me, Lieutenant, did you learn something today?" he asked.

"I think we all did, sir," said Thire.

"Hear hear," said Jek.

The Doctor smiled and let the bird fly away as he jumped down from the rock.

"Come on, then," he said. "We're behind schedule. It's rude to be late, especially when we're meeting royalty."

The Doctor, Thire, Jek, and Rys all walked along the path that would lead them to King Katuunko the quickest. They found the rendezvous point quite quickly, and they saw Ventress and the King, each with their personal guards, and a hologram of Count Dooku. The Doctor heard the King renounce the Separatist cause in favor of the Republic. Count Dooku urged the Toydarian King to reconsider, but Katuunko said no once more.

"Perhaps negotiations will be more fruitful with your successor!" shouted Dooku. "Ventress! Kill him!" Ventress activated her own twin red lightsabers, pushed Katuunko's guards away, and made for the King, aiming to decapitate him. Just before she could contact, however, the Doctor outstretched his hand, stopping her momentum instantly and protecting the King from a gruesome death. Ventress grunted with effort as she tried to resist the Doctor's mental grip, but he was too strong for her.

After Ventress's droid guards were shot down by Jek and Rys, King Katuunko addressed the Doctor in the flesh.

"Doctor," he said over Ventress's lightsaber blades. "It is good to meet you in person at last."

"Your Majesty, I share the feeling," said the Doctor as he pushed Ventress back away from Katuunko and addressed Dooku's hologram.

"Ventress has failed you again, Count Dooku," said the Doctor.

"I don't fear you, Jedi fool!" growled Ventress as she readied herself to duel the Doctor.

"You are strong with the Dark Side, Ventress," said the Doctor patronizingly as he pulled the assassin's lightsabers from her grip. "But not that strong. You still have much to learn." He tossed her lightsabers back before adding, "You should probably surrender."

Ventress weighed her options before deciding ultimately to run away. She fled in her ship, a Geonosian starfighter that looked similar to Count Dooku's own personal ship on which he fled from the Doctor during the Battle of Geonosis.

"In the end," he said to Dooku. "Dark Side followers are only cowards who think they have power."

"It's a pity I wasn't there in person, my old Master," said Dooku condescendingly.

"A pity indeed," chided the Doctor. "I was looking so forward to watching you run away again, too."

"How is your arm treating you, Doctor?" added Dooku with a sneer. He had obviously heard of the Doctor's defeat at General Grievous's hands on Hypori. The Doctor wouldn't let a Sith Lord have that over him, so he kept his composure.

"Quite well, actually," said the Doctor with a cheerful smile, as though he had no idea what Dooku was talking about.

The Count glared at the Doctor intensely as he cut off the transmission.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, maybe we can begin negotiations," said the Doctor to King Katuunko.

"Negotiations are not necessary, my friend," said Katuunko. "You have earned my faith and my trust a hundred times over. Toydaria would be honored to host a Republic base. We are at your service." The Toydarian King handed an ancient-looking sword to the Doctor as a sign of good faith. The Doctor took the sword and held it gently in his hands.

"Your Majesty, we will not fail you," he said, beaming. "I promise."

* * *

**So, this is definitely one of the reasons as to why TCW is the longest installment so far and will probably hold that record. I'm basically rewriting the entire episode from which this chapter was adapted, so it's definitely going to be pretty long. The next few will be pretty long as well, especially Chapters 10 and 12. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. In the next chapter, an old enemy will resurface to face the Doctor once again.**

**Also, another "yay" for Subspace Emissary from user mboutwell7! WOOT WOOT! Thank you very much for your support, mboutwell7! If you would like to see it happen-or not, it doesn't matter-sound off in a review and/or private message. I'd love to hear your thoughts!**

**Oh, look! A progress report!**

**I: Finished**

**II: Finished**

**CW: Finished**

**III: Finished**

**IV: Finished**

**V: Finished**

**VI: In progress**

**That's right, folks! I've started work on the very last volume of Star Wars (Starring the Doctor)! And my hunch about the number of chapters was correct. Episode VI will have twelve chapters, as well as, of course, a prologue and an epilogue. I'm really excited to finally finish this story and share it with you guys. It's been a real blast writing this, and I can't wait to see it to the end!**

**Anyway, that does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	10. Return

Chapter Nine: Return

The Doctor had always known that, at some point, some of his actions would catch up to him. Not everyone liked what he did, and some people hated him for it. Some people hated him so much that they were willing to make attempts on his life in order to obtain vengeance on the Doctor for something he had done.

During the Clone Wars, the Doctor encountered two such people. The first was young Boba Fett, who was the cloned "son" of Jango Fett, the progenitor for the entire clone army and the bounty hunter whom the Doctor had beheaded during the first battle of the Clone Wars. Boba teamed up with vicious bounty hunters Aurra Sing and Bossk to try and kill the Doctor by blowing him up. When that failed, Aurra ordered Boba to blow up the ship he was on at the time, the _Endurance_, which almost worked. Boba and Bossk were captured, and Aurra got caught in an explosion and was presumed dead.

The second man was one the Doctor had never expected to be alive. He was a beacon of evil from long ago, and seeing him again made the Doctor know what anger truly felt like. The last time the Doctor had seen this man, he was on Naboo. Qui-Gon Jinn had fallen to this man's blade, and Obi-Wan Kenobi had cut him in half with the Doctor's help as retribution.

The Doctor first sensed him while meditating. As if creating ambience, the skies of Coruscant had started to rain, and lightning crackled every now and again. The Doctor was trying to make contact with Mr. Voice when his mind suddenly became shrouded in darkness. His vision became clouded, and the Doctor soon saw a face enter his field of vision. Clearer and clearer the face showed up until the Doctor could see every line and pore on it. The eyes opened, revealing deep, hateful yellow irises surrounded by bloodshot scleras. He knew that face. He had gazed into it once before.

It was the face of the Sith Lord Darth Maul.

The Doctor cried out in pain as he awoke from his vision. The headache he had from the vision was excruciating. He could still see the irises as they awoke with a fire in them that the Doctor had only seen in the eyes of Darth Maul. Obi-Wan needed to hear this, the Doctor realized, so he telepathically called to the Jedi Master from his quarters in the Jedi Temple.

Obi-Wan opened the door to the Doctor's quarters and walked in cautiously.

"You wanted to see me, Doctor?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Yes, Master Kenobi," said the Doctor. "I'm afraid that you and I might be in terrible danger."

"What do you mean, Doctor?" asked Obi-Wan, worried now because the Doctor almost never referred to him as "Master Kenobi," always by "Obi-Wan."

"I fear an old enemy of ours has risen," said the Doctor solemnly. "You and I fought him ten years ago on Naboo." Obi-Wan instantly put the pieces together.

"Darth Maul," he said breathlessly, as though the revelation knocked the wind out of him. "It can't be. I killed him myself. I watched him die."

"I saw it, too," said the Doctor. "But I can feel him in the Force. Darth Maul has risen again."

Obi-Wan said nothing, merely looking out the window in thought.

"We'll be on the lookout for him, Obi-Wan," said the Doctor. "The minute he does anything, you'll get first crack at him."

"Thank you, Doctor," was Obi-Wan's only response as he continued to ponder.

The Doctor continued to watch for Darth Maul, knowing that the Zabrak would want to make his existence known after so much time away. He only knew that because it was what he would have done in Maul's position. The Doctor waited for days, but nothing came about.

And then, Darth Maul took the stage.

The Doctor had been in the Temple briefing room for hours, waiting. Stass Allie came by a few times to talk with him or bring him some caf, but she knew he was busy. Every time she left, she gave his hand a small squeeze, which had the effect of warming the Doctor's hearts instantly.

He had long since acknowledged that he cared about Stass, and he had figured out that she cared about him as well. Since the Battle of Hypori, they had begun a sort of flirting bout with each other that they kept private at all times so as not to draw attention to themselves. Stass hadn't really flirted with him much today, but only because she knew he was worried about the threat of Darth Maul. The Doctor hadn't told her about Darth Maul, per se, but she knew that he was troubled regardless, so she left him alone for the most part.

Stass had been with him when he received the transmission. It was recorded, not live, from a planet called Raydonia. The Doctor could tell by the way that the central figure of the message wasn't looking at either him or Stass.

The central figure was, of course, Darth Maul. His sickening red lightsaber, somehow recovered from Naboo after Obi-Wan cut it in half just as he had cut Darth Maul in half, glowed in the hologram, and no less than six innocent people were standing, hands behind their backs, cowering in fear of the Zabrak Sith Lord reborn.

"Get Obi-Wan," said the Doctor quickly to Stass as he paused the recording.

"Yes, Doctor," said Stass, and she ran off to find Obi-Wan and bring him back to the Doctor. While she did that, the Doctor also contacted Ki-Adi Mundi, Saesee Tiin, Plo Koon, and Mace Windu, who were all out on assignment. All four senior Jedi Council members answered the call, and they looked at the Doctor with puzzled expressions. Why was he called them? The Doctor had no doubt that they were all wondering this as Stass dashed into the briefing room, Obi-Wan Kenobi at her heels.

"What's going on, Doctor?" asked the Jedi Master. Then, of course, he saw his old enemy. The Doctor looked at him with a solemn expression as he took in the full reality of it.

"Tell me that's not who I think it is," said Obi-Wan, terror and fury evident all at the same time.

"I'm afraid so," said the Doctor. "I knew you'd want to see it for yourself."

"Doctor, to reiterate Master Kenobi's question, what is going on here?" asked Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"Allow me to show you," said the Doctor as he played the recording for all seven Jedi to see. Darth Maul had new, cybernetic legs that looked a lot like those of General Grievous, and it was with these legs that he viciously encircled his prey.

"KENOBI!" shouted the hologram of Darth Maul. The voice of Darth Maul had not pierced the Doctor's ears in well over a decade. Hearing it now sent chills down the Doctor's spine. "I have returned for my vengeance at last!"

The faces of the four holographic Jedi Masters all turned grim as they realized that the man to whom they were now listening was Darth Maul reborn.

"These citizens of Raydonia cower in fear of me, Jedi!" Maul continued. "I have killed many of these snivelling weaklings already. Men, women, and children, all in the name of my hatred for you, Kenobi!"

The Doctor's fists clenched in anger when Maul said this. Innocents had died by his blade. He had to pay, whether by Obi-Wan's hand or his own. Somehow, Darth Maul would pay.

"There will be more innocent blood on your hands, Kenobi, unless you come to Raydonia!" challenged Maul. "Face me! Come alone, and if you do not, this world will burn!" As he made this last threat, Darth Maul executed the citizens who were cowering from him, decapitating them brutally.

The hologram shut off, and the Doctor realized that his knuckles had turned white. He quickly calmed himself, regaining the color in his knuckles as he relaxed his grip on the air. The Doctor saw Obi-Wan's face. He knew that he had already made his decision.

"I have to go," he said.

"You're not going alone," ordered Mace.

"I agree," said Plo. "We should send a task force with you."

"No," said Obi-Wan. "You see what he's capable of. He's broken, unbalanced. I've dealt with him before. I can deal with him again."

"This is a trap and you know it," urged Mace.

"I agree with Obi-Wan," said the Doctor. "I saw him fight Darth Maul as a Padawan and very nearly defeat him on his own. He cut Darth Maul in half. He should finish what he started over ten years ago."

The Masters, Mace reluctantly, bowed, following the Doctor's orders, and their hologram transmissions cut off, leaving Obi-Wan, Stass, and the Doctor.

"I'm off to Raydonia to end this once and for all," said Obi-Wan, nodding his head in finality.

Once again, Stass and the Doctor were alone. Stass gripped the Doctor's hand tightly as she spoke to him.

"Are you sure that's Darth Maul?" she asked.

"I'm positive," said the Doctor, remembering the chills he had gotten earlier.

"Then don't you think his capture is too important for Obi-Wan to handle by himself?" asked Stass, fear for her friend bubbling up to the surface.

"Something tells me he won't have to handle Maul by himself," said the Doctor. "There's someone else who can help him." The Doctor couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew that Obi-Wan would have an ally against Maul in a very unlikely person, indeed.

"Who?" asked Stass, the curiosity in her shining through.

"I don't know," admitted the Doctor. "I suppose we have to trust in the Force."

"Of course, Doctor," said Stass, letting go of his hand and leaving him to be in the briefing room alone. As she left, the Doctor tried to focus on how to best capture Darth Maul should Obi-Wan fail, but his mind kept wandering back to Stass Allie. She was quite a remarkable young woman. She had grown up a lot since he first met her, especially over the course of the war, which had been going on for roughly two years now. Stass had been a very energetic Padawan for her former Master, Roranicus Pond, to handle, and he often went to his friend, the Doctor, for advice. The Doctor himself had watched her grow even more after being Knighted, and he began to see that she was a capable and intelligent Jedi Knight, as well as attractive. He had first banished thoughts about being attracted to her, but after Hypori and the simple touch they had shared, the Doctor began to wonder if the Code he had faithfully followed for well over nine hundred years was entirely truthful. He didn't bring it up with any of his friends on the Council, not even Plo or Saesee, for fear that they would merely judge him unfit for Jedi duty. He didn't want that. He wanted to serve the Jedi and the Republic as best he could, but he also had the nagging feeling of wanting to be with Stass. What could he do to have both? The Doctor didn't know the answer, so he tried to stay at least partially focused on the task at hand.

Every so often, the image of bright purple eyes would appear in his mind.

Unfortunately, Obi-Wan Kenobi had failed to kill Darth Maul, but only because of a small oversight. Nobody, not even Obi-Wan or the Doctor, had expected Maul to have backup in the form of his brother, Savage Opress, a yellow-skinned Dathomirian Zabrak who had caused the Jedi a bit of trouble a few months back. Even with the help of a newfound ally in Count Dooku's former assassin, Asajj Ventress, who had been thought dead after one of the many battles of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan barely escaped with his life. He did, however, leave Darth Maul and his brother stranded in space for a while, which the Doctor figured would stop them for a time until they resurfaced. For the moment, there was peace.

The relative peace from the Zabrak Sith pair was not to last for long; the Doctor knew this. Reports of lightsaber-wielding Zabrak attacking multiple different planets and space stations in the Outer Rim cropped up. The attacks seemed connected in that they were located around the same general area. This area was close to Raydonia, the planet Maul had massacred in order to get Obi-Wan's attention, so the Doctor quickly deduced that Maul and his brother were behind these attacks. Unfortunately, he needed hard proof that it was the two Sith, and none came until the attack on the spaceport.

Twi'lek Jedi Master Finn Ertay and her Nikto companion, Kened Tenwal, had reported sighting the brothers at a spaceport close to where the attacks had occurred. The Jedi had engaged the Sith, and Master Ertay suddenly cut off communication as Tenwal was overwhelmed by Savage Opress. The Doctor knew that they probably wouldn't survive, and he sighed as he felt a small pang in the Force indicating that he had been right.

"So it's definitely Maul and his brother who have been attacking these places," said Obi-Wan, who had joined the Doctor in his tireless search for their old enemy.

"It would appear so," said the Doctor, running his hand through his hair in frustration. How long would it be before these killings stopped? How long would it take? These were questions the Doctor simply could not answer.

For another day, the Doctor and Obi-Wan waited for another attack in the Outer Rim area in which the brothers were operating. Then, at last, they had a substantial lead. There had been a distress signal sent from an IG Banking Clan space station in the Cybloc system of Meridian sector, close to where Maul and Savage had killed Master Ertay and Kened Tenwal. The Doctor and Obi-Wan decided to go after them, but they also acknowledged that they would need more than just the two of them in case they had to fight the brothers. So, the Doctor decided to call on Master Adi Gallia, a fellow Council member, to help them.

"I would be honored, Doctor," she said with a smile as the three Jedi Masters went off to face the two Sith.

They took a T-6 shuttle to the Cybloc space station. The Doctor could sense the stench of the Dark Side as they dropped out of hyperspace, mixed with a tinge of Zabrak. Darth Maul and Savage had been there recently.

"Here we are," said Obi-Wan. "Cybloc system."

"Close in proximity to the earlier attacks," observed Adi.

"It's them," confirmed the Doctor. "I can sense it."

The Jedi cautiously docked with the station, not knowing what to expect. As they walked onto the station, the three of them held their lightsabers at the ready, just in case Maul and Savage were still there. But, instead of the Sith, they found a Snivvian. He held his hands up in an effort to get the Jedi to back away.

"Hey, woah, now!" he said. "Just what do you think you're doin'? This here's a matter for the IG Bankin' Clan!"

"It's okay," said the Doctor. "We're here to help investigate the attack." The Snivvian seemed to calm himself after hearing the Doctor's reassurances.

"Can you tell us what happened here?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Sure thing," said the Snivvian. "Follow me. I'll take you to where it happened. Name's Morlimur, by the way. Morlimur Snugg."

Morlimur Snugg led the Doctor, Adi, and Obi-Wan through the small station as he explained the circumstances of this particular attack.

"Couple o' the droid survivors said they saw the lights go out right before they came," he said. "Then the droid cap'n goes down and all hell breaks loose. Most of the droids were wiped out, and them boys stole a safe with a small fortune inside.

"This is where the safe was," Morlimur continued, indicating the room they had just entered. "The credits inside were new, unmarked. Ain't no way to trace the buggers. Them boys that done it were the crabbiest Zabraks this side o' the Hydian."

"Were they alone?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Yup," confirmed Morlimur. "The droids said they had lightsabers." Suddenly, as if realizing that he was in the presence of not one, but three, distinguished Jedi Masters, Morlimur grew tense and uncomfortable. It was as though he didn't want to ask the question the Doctor knew he was about to ask.

"Wh-what were they?" he asked. "Couple o' Jedi gone rogue or something?"

"Trust me, Mr. Snugg," said the Doctor. "They are anything but Jedi."

"Right," said Morlimur, seeming to become less uncomfortable with the situation. "Do me a favor there, missy," he said to Adi. "Spark up that lightsaber, would ya?"

Adi did so, showing off her blue blade for Morlimur to see.

"Hmm," the Snivvian rubbed his chin in thought. "The droid survivors said them Zabraks had red sabers." Bingo. Darth Maul and Savage Opress had, without a doubt, been here. All they needed to do now was track them down, as they weren't here anymore.

"They are Sith," said Adi. "We need to find them as soon as possible."

"Well, they did steal my cargo ship," said Morlimur. "Aurore-class. Real beauty."

"Do you know where they were headed?" asked Obi-Wan, giving off a tinge of eagerness.

"One of the droids said they heard something 'bout the Sertar sector, if that helps," said Morlimur.

_Yes, it most certainly does,_ the Doctor thought with glee.

"Thank you, Mr. Snugg," he said out loud. "We'll be out of your way shortly."

As Morlimur walked out of the room, the three Jedi convened to talk about the location of the Zabraks.

"What is in the Sertar sector?" asked Adi, who was unfamiliar with the region.

"It's where Florrum is located," said Obi-Wan after a moment of thought.

"You've been there before," the Doctor said to Obi-Wan, who nodded in confirmation.

"What can we expect?" asked Adi.

"Pirates," said Obi-Wan instantly.

"Brilliant," said the Doctor, who knew all too well the troublesome shifting moods of pirates. "Well, let's get a move on, then. We've got Sith to catch!" With that, he ran off to the shuttle, Obi-Wan and Adi following behind. The Doctor had already punched in the coordinates for Florrum when Obi-Wan and Adi joined him in the shuttle's cockpit. They quickly took off and soon were on their way to Florrum, pushing the T-6 to its speed limit.

When the Jedi arrived at Florrum, they were greeted with the sight of an Aurore-class shuttle.

"There's Mr. Snugg's shuttle," said the Doctor.

"Looks as though our Sith friends have picked up an escort of pirates," commented Obi-Wan.

"Unloading the stolen cargo?" asked Adi.

"I'm not sure that Hondo would make a deal with Sith," replied Obi-Wan.

"You sound like you know him," joked the Doctor, smirking.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Obi-Wan, also smirking. "I'll try to make contact with him."

Obi-Wan punched in a communication number that was apparently Hondo's, and the holoimage of a Weequay pirate with a monkey-lizard on his shoulder appeared before the three Jedi.

"Greetings, Hondo," said Obi-Wan formally.

"Greetings?!" said Hondo incredulously, as though Obi-Wan's formality was an insult. "What kind of menace have you brought to my planet now? Hmm? First, you lose this system, and Grievous comes in and destroys my entire stronghold."

"He has a tendency to do that," commented the Doctor, but Hondo seemed to not take notice or really even care, as he kept on going.

"And I am left to rummage through the remains of my empire," Hondo continued ranting. "Then, these two horned men show up. Who are these horny-headed maniacs, and why are they here? Are they Jedi? They don't seem like normal Jedi."

"They're not Jedi, Hondo," said Obi-Wan. "They're Sith. My friends and I have been tracking them down."

"Well, they just threatened to attack with a group of my men!" shouted Hondo, standing up rather flamboyantly. "My own men!"

"Yes, we're looking at them right now," said the Doctor. "They're heading towards you. Their stolen cargo ship and three of your ships."

"It doesn't matter how many men betrayed me," said Hondo. "What matters is, will you help me when you arrive?"

"We cannot fight your men, but we can fight the Sith," said Adi. Hondo nodded, accepting this plan.

"Good, good," said the pirate. "I will deal with my men, and you will deal with those tattooed crazy men." The communication ceased, and the Jedi piloted the shuttle down to Florrum's surface as fast as they could. The Doctor was very eager indeed to catch Darth Maul at last and bring him to justice. Perhaps the Jedi could even get him to reveal the location of the mysterious Darth Sidious, if such a man even existed. That got the Doctor to try and fly the ship even faster as they descended onto the battlefield that encompassed a small area of Florrum.

As soon as the shuttle landed, the three Jedi dashed out and looked at the battlefield. Hondo's men were holding their own, but this was only the first wave of the traitors. The Doctor could tell that the men loyal to Hondo would not last too much longer.

The Doctor heard the sickening sound of Sith lightsaber blades activating behind him. He instantly whirled around, activating his own lightsabers as Obi-Wan and Adi did the same. Green and blue faced off against red once more as the Jedi and Sith stared defiantly at each other.

"Throwing your hat in with pirates now, Maul?" asked the Doctor sarcastically. "The Sith have indeed fallen far. By the way, loving the new legs. You're so much taller now." Maul's face grew from irritated to enraged as he remembered the role the Doctor had played in his downfall on Naboo.

"Doctor," he seethed. "My hatred for you is eclipsed only by my hatred for Kenobi."

"Well, you're in luck," said Obi-Wan. "Here we are."

Darth Maul lunged at Obi-Wan and the Doctor, striking at them with all he had. Adi joined in against Maul for a few moments, but was soon preoccupied with Savage's attack, leaving Obi-Wan and the Doctor to face Maul once again.

The Doctor's strategy for defeating Maul was the same as it was over twelve years ago. He would apply Djem So mixed with a bit of Ataru and account for Obi-Wan's movements now. Overall, the Doctor and Obi-Wan meshed fairly well in terms of co-op lightsaber combat. The Jedi Masters accounted for the other's moves perfectly, never faulting or failing to defend themselves against Maul.

The Jedi were forced to jump from the cliff to get to a larger field of battle as the Sith gave chase. Adi split off again from the Doctor and Obi-Wan as Savage chased her, swinging his double-bladed lightsaber ferociously. He was a reckless animal, unlike his brother, who was now older, less arrogant, and more calculating than before.

Darth Maul had cornered the Doctor and Obi-Wan and was preparing to kill them once and for all, but the two Jedi Masters saw through his strategy and jumped onto a large piece of ship that was behind them. Maul jumped up as well and held his lightsaber aloft at them.

"I have plans, Jedi, and you two will not be getting in my way this time," he snarled as the duel raged on. Maul seemed to be concentrating more on Obi-Wan, paying the Doctor attention only when the Grand Master scored a near-hit on the Sith. The fight was fierce, and it was beginning to be balanced in favor of the Jedi, who not only outnumbered Maul, but who also had far greater skill in combat.

Adi Gallia was unfortunately not so lucky. Her small frame made it hard for Savage to hit her with his saber, but his large frame made it impossible for her to harm him. The Doctor kicked Maul away, leaving Obi-Wan to briefly engage him alone, and watched as the final moments of his friend, Adi Gallia, played out before his eyes.

Savage was overwhelming Adi with his sheer strength. The Jedi Master was having a hard time keeping up with him and was rapidly growing tired. The Doctor had seen it once before on Naboo, when Qui-Gon Jinn was fatally wounded by the man he had just fought. Adi made a last-ditch attempt to kick out Savage's knee, but it was useless against the stronger warrior. Her strength fading, the Doctor jumped down to try and help her, but by then, it was already too late. Savage had pushed her with the Force against the piece of ship on which the Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Maul stood, leaving her dazed for a moment. In her dazed state, Savage saw his opportunity and rushed at her head-first.

"NO!" cried the Doctor as several of Savage's horns pierced Adi Gallia's abdomen. The Doctor pushed Savage away in anger as he ran up to Adi's collapsed form and held her tight.

"Adi! Stay with me," he said. "Stay with me."

"Doctor..." she said weakly. The Doctor looked at her wounds. Blood was already accumulating in frighteningly large volume and pouring out of her.

"It's okay, Adi. You're going to be alright," he lied. There was no use in trying to heal her. Adi Gallia was already dead. Her body just needed to catch up.

"Doctor...please...take care...of...Stass..." said Adi, taking prolonged breaths in between her words. "Watch...over her."

"Of course," said the Doctor.

"Tell...her..." Adi ordered, weakening by the second. "Tell her...how...you feel."

"She knows already," said the Doctor, and it wasn't a complete lie. He hadn't told Stass how he felt about her yet, but he got the feeling that she had worked it out.

"Good," breathed Adi. "She will...be so...happy..." Adi exhaled one last time, then laid her head back, closing her eyes. The Doctor laid her body down on the ground. It had caught up with her. She was dead. Another Jedi gone far too soon.

The Doctor was ripped back into the present by the sounds of clashing lightsabers. Obi-Wan was fighting both Savage and Maul at the same time. The Doctor decided to help him out, activating his lightsabers and going straight for Savage. The Zabrak was slightly unprepared for the Doctor, but he quickly gained a footing against the Gallifreyan and didn't let him gain a whole lot of ground.

The two Jedi fought furiously, but the time came to retreat. Hondo's pirate forces were being overrun, and the Weequay called out to Obi-Wan and the Doctor.

"Jedi!" he shouted. "This way!" The Doctor could barely hear him, but the message was clear.

"We've got to go!" shouted the Doctor. Obi-Wan acknowledged, pulling Adi's fallen lightsaber to him and jumping away from the Zabrak Sith.

"Running away, Doctor?" taunted Maul as the Doctor jumped after Obi-Wan. The Doctor ignored the jab as he and Obi-Wan ran into Hondo's run-down mess of a hideout. It certainly wasn't much to look at, but it would do for now. The narrow hallways could definitely be used to their advantage, the Doctor noted.

The Doctor and Obi-Wan ran down one of the halls and met up with Hondo. He had very few men with him, but the Doctor could have sworn he had more.

"Where are your men?" he asked in puzzlement.

"Setting up an ambush," answered Hondo. "We can use your help."

"We will do what we can," said Obi-Wan.

Hondo looked puzzled for a moment, as if he were looking for something or someone.

"Where is the other Jedi?" he asked.

"Dead," the Doctor answered softly, still very upset at his friend's murder.

"She's d..." Hondo almost blurted out, but too surprised to even finish. "They are too powerful for even you? I am semi-speechless."

The Doctor could hear voices, and his lightsabers activated so quickly, it was as if they had a mind of their own. Obi-Wan's blue blade extended as well, and he activated Adi's lightsaber.

"We will draw the Sith away," said Obi-Wan. "They're after us anyway. Once we're away, blast the passageway closed."

"And leave you alone with the two horned crazies?" asked Hondo, seeming appalled by the very notion. "Okay," he added after a second of thought.

When Maul, Savage, and their men arrived to face the Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Hondo's men, Hondo called for a retreat. The Doctor and Obi-Wan ran as fast as they could away from their enemies as Maul shouted for them to go after them. The hallway intersected with another hallway perpendicularly. Hondo and his men ran to the right, and Obi-Wan and the Doctor, seeking only to draw the Sith away, ran to the left. The strategy worked, and Maul and Savage soon gave chase to Obi-Wan and the Doctor.

The passageway was blasted shut by Hondo, just as they had planned, leaving the Jedi alone with the Sith.

The Jedi Masters ran until they were met with a wall, at which point they faced the Zabrak Sith who were chasing them relentlessly.

"Surrender!" ordered Maul. "You are no match for us both." Savage growled his assent as the Doctor and Obi-Wan prepared themselves for another fight.

"That is where you are wrong, Maul," said the Doctor.

The Doctor was engaged by Savage, while Maul duelled Obi-Wan once more. Savage was not a difficult opponent to understand for the Doctor. The beastly man thought only of power, never of strategy. The Doctor's vastly superior intelligence would win him this fight; he knew that much. He also knew that the knee that Adi had kicked at earlier was now a weak point in Savage's defense. Whenever the Doctor got the chance, he kicked at Savage's left knee relentlessly. The Sith was not fast enough to see it coming, and the Doctor used that slowness to his advantage. He kicked and kicked, stabbed and sliced at Savage, his main saber and his shoto thirsting for justice for Adi's murder.

The Doctor warned himself not to get too carried away as he had done with Jango Fett. He didn't want to kill Savage, but he did want to bring him in. If it meant harming him, so be it, but the Doctor didn't really want it to come to that, either.

Another kick, and Savage's knee buckled, forcing him down to the ground for a moment. He growled in anger at the Doctor as he stood up. The Doctor felt a cold set of hands, Maul's hands, lift him off the ground with the Force and slam him into the wall to his left. He landed on Obi-Wan, who had been thrown there by Maul. The two Jedi Masters quickly stood and reactivated their previously turned-off lightsabers. They just barely had enough time to block a simultaneous attack from the Sith. The Doctor looked at Savage's trembling left knee and kicked out at it one last time. He heard a SNAP and a scream from Savage as his kneecap was busted. The Doctor then struck out at Savage in his defenseless state, cutting off his entire left arm. The Zabrak screamed in even more pain as he fell to the ground.

"SAVAGE!" cried Maul. It seemed that Maul actually cared, at least a little bit, about his brother. That surprised the Doctor. So much so that he didn't quite see the Force Push aimed his way. Obi-Wan and the Doctor were caught in the wave and sent flying back into the back of the hallway. Debris fell between the Jedi and the Sith. The Doctor rubbed his head as he got up from the floor and found another hallway leading to the outside, where Maul and Savage were no doubt running.

"Come on, Obi-Wan!" he called as he ran off to capture the Sith. The Doctor ran as fast as he could, Obi-Wan right on his tail. When they reached the outside of the base, the Jedi found Maul and Savage running for their lives from Hondo's reunified men. The Doctor and Obi-Wan joined in the chase, running after the Sith with intent to capture, if possible. The Jedi gained quite a bit of ground when one of Maul's cybernetic legs was shot out from under him. Even still, the Zabraks were fast enough to stay away from the Jedi during the chase. Maul, supported by his brother, used the Force to bring down the T-6 shuttle the Jedi had come in on, and this led to the Sith slowing the pirates down long enough to get to their stolen ship.

Obi-Wan and the Doctor leapt over the T-6 as one of Hondo's men shot at the Sith's engines with a rocket launcher, damaging the ship and forcing it to crash. The Doctor, Obi-Wan, Hondo, and Hondo's men watched as the ship fell further and further until it finally impacted a few kilometers from the base.

"Well, Jedi," announced Hondo after the ship crashed, "let's see what riches those crazies have left in their ship for me-and you." Laughing, Hondo ordered speeder bikes to be brought out for them.

"Shall we?" he asked. The Doctor hated to admit it, but he liked Hondo. He was likeable, even for a pirate, so long as one didn't get on his bad side.

"Let's," said the Doctor as he boarded one of the speeders along with one of Hondo's men, who was called Jiro.

They traveled quickly to the ship, and found it in ruins, as the Doctor had expected. Most of what was stored on the cargo ship had been reduced to almost nothing. Maul and Savage were nowhere to be found, leading Hondo to believe that they had been vaporized in the crash. Obi-Wan and the Doctor both expressed their doubts. If Maul could survive getting cut in half, who was to say that he and his brother couldn't survive a ship crash?

In any case, the pirates collected what they could, and they even gave the Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Adi Gallia's body a ride home to Coruscant. The Doctor had taken Adi's body and wrapped it in some cloth that Hondo had given him. It was only a temporary measure, as she would be given a burial in proper burial cloth once the Jedi returned to Coruscant.

A thought popped into the Doctor's head as they were heading back. It was an awful thought that made him cringe. How was he going to tell Stass? She would probably be devastated, he figured as the ship landed at the Jedi Temple.

After landing, the Doctor and Obi-Wan took Adi's body and placed it in a floating casket to be used for her pyre. They met with Mace Windu and told him of what had happened. His eyes betrayed sadness at Adi's death, as she was a friend of his, but he nevertheless took the casket in to prepare for the funeral. The Doctor and Obi-Wan went their separate ways for now, but not before agreeing to meet with Chancellor Palpatine to talk with him about Maul's return.

The Doctor found a quiet room and sat in the middle of it for several minutes, purifying himself of any malignant thoughts he may have had towards Maul and his brother.

"Well, then, soldier," called a voice from the doorway. "How goes the day?" The Doctor looked up and saw Stass Allie smiling in the doorway. She almost skipped down the stairs and wrapped her arms around him in an affectionate hug. Her smile faded when she saw the Doctor's own somber expression.

"What's wrong, Doctor?" she asked. "Did something happen?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said the Doctor, sighing. "Adi-she-well...she was killed by the people we were going after." The Doctor explained the situation to Stass hesitantly, not knowing how she would react.

As he suspected, however, the death of her cousin took a toll on Stass, and she began to sob into the Doctor's shoulder. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her, trying to get her to calm down, but it was no use. Stass had just lost her cousin. Naturally, she was utterly devastated. The Doctor simply let her have a good cry, holding her the entire way through it.

When she stopped, she separated from the Doctor's embrace and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry about that," she said. "I must be a complete mess."

"No, no, it's okay," the Doctor reassured her. "But you should know that Adi died bravely, and she wanted me to take care of you, so that's what I'm going to do."

Stass smiled at him, then hugged him once more. Then he had an idea. It was a long shot, but it could work, or it could at least in the Doctor's mind.

"There's a vacant spot in the Council now," he said. "What say you to taking Adi's place?"

Of course, Stass was completely shocked.

"Oh, my...Doctor, I...I don't know what to say," she stammered.

"Then don't say anything right now," said the Doctor. "Just think about it and come back to me later on. I'll talk to the Council about it, but they should accept you no problem."

"Thank you very much, Doctor," said Stass, hugging him once again before departing the room, leaving the Doctor's hearts fluttering for several seconds after.

The Jedi had their meeting with Chancellor Palpatine that night. Palpatine met with the Doctor and Obi-Wan, along with Mace and Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan relayed the story of Florrum to the Chancellor, including Adi Gallia's death and the Sith's possible demise as well. When he reached the part about the crash of the Sith cargo ship, Palpatine interrupted him.

"Then, I believe we have closure on it, Master Kenobi," he said.

"I apologize, Chancellor, but I must disagree," said Obi-Wan. "If there's any lesson to be learned here, it is that the Sith are persistent."

"I understand your stance on the matter, Master Kenobi, but this is very personal for you. It cannot be allowed to interfere with your duties to the Republic," said the Chancellor. "Darth Maul is not a direct threat to the Republic. Your efforts must therefore be redirected to ending this war."

"If I may, Chancellor, Darth Maul was building an army of pirates," chimed the Doctor. "How is that not a direct threat?"

"Pirates are of little concern to us when the Separatists are still at large, Doctor," said Palpatine. "I say let him play with that rabble. They are merely petty crooks. The Separatists are a much larger threat. I believe this issue has been settled, then. Good day to you."

With that, Chancellor Palpatine walked back into his office, leaving the four Jedi to converse among themselves.

"Something is stirring in the underworld," said Obi-Wan stubbornly. "These crime families have had too much free rein in this war."

"It would seem like a fertile place for Maul to flourish if he survived," agreed Anakin.

"You are probably right, Obi-Wan," said Mace. "But we should heed the words of the Chancellor."

"He's right," said the Doctor. "This is a personal matter for you. It is for me, too. As such, our judgement could be clouded. If he has survived, then Darth Maul will reveal himself again. When he does, we will act."

"Very well, Doctor," said Obi-Wan, resigning to restraining himself until Maul resurfaced again.

The four Jedi left the Senate building to go back to the Jedi Temple and hold Adi Gallia's funeral. Even as he walked with his comrades back to their speeder bus that would take them to the Temple, the Doctor could sense that someone, somewhere, had plans for Darth Maul and his brother, should they rise from the ashes of their defeat once again.

Unbeknownst to the Doctor or anyone else in the galaxy, that someone was Darth Sidious.

* * *

**So, yeah, this chapter is well over 6,000 words. That's approximately a third of TPM in one chapter, and I'm pretty sure that the next chapter will be even longer. As I'm typing this author's note, I'm working on the first chapter of Return of the Jedi. It's kinda surreal, almost like the beginning of the end of an era. At the same time, however, I'm pretty glad that I've been able to keep at this and eventually finish it.**

**I've gotten two "yay's" for a Subspace Emissary novelization. I haven't gotten any "nay's," which, right now, probably means I'm going to end up doing it after finishing RotJ, but it's your call. If you don't want me to do it, sound off. If you do, by all means, sound off in a review or private message.**

**I don't really want to end this note on a somber tone, but I feel that it is my duty to address the tragedy that has recently occurred. Most of you guys probably know this already, but for those of you who don't, the world lost Robin Williams yesterday. The police are ruling it a suicide, which unfortunately means that Mr. Williams had probably been suffering from depression during the latter portion of his life.**

**I am a HUGE fan of Robin Williams's work. I grew up on movies like Aladdin, Hook, and Flubber. Dead Poets Society is still one of the best movies out there. Robin Williams was a truly talented actor and truly funny man. He wanted to make people laugh, and he was certainly good at getting me to laugh. And the world is less funny without him in it. Genie, you're free. Rest in peace, Robin Williams.**

**As I said before, Robin Williams was probably suffering from depression during the latter portion of his life. Now, I don't know your life stories, guys, and I don't claim to. But if you're suffering from depression, just remember that it gets better. Think on the positives of life instead of the negatives, and you will feel better. I promise. Even if you aren't suffering from depression, but you know someone who is, try to help them through their struggle. Reach out. You'll be awesome for it, and you'll probably feel awesome about it, too.**

**Have a bangarang day. Until the next chapter, my friends.**


	11. The Secret to Immortality

Chapter Ten: The Secret to Immortality

The time had come for Mr. Voice to finally reveal himself. The time had come for the Doctor to learn the power of retaining his spirit and his consciousness even after his death.

The time had come at last for the secret to immortality.

The Doctor had been sleep-meditating in his quarters. He longed for these respites from the fighting and the war, as they gave him time to recover his strength when it had begun to fade. His mind was clearing itself of Dark Side emotions, and he was content to simply lie on his small bed for hours on end, resting and recuperating for the next stretch of fighting.

_Hello, Doctor_, came a voice that had penetrated his thoughts. The Doctor mentally smiled, for it was his disembodied friend, Mr. Voice.

_Hello there_, said the Doctor. _Come to teach me one last time?_

_Yes, Doctor,_ replied Mr. Voice. _But before that happens, I feel you should know my true identity._ The Doctor was now beyond curious. At last, the question that had been nagging at his subconscious for nearly three years was finally going to be answered.

_Who are you?_ he asked.

_I'm surprised you did not immediately recognize my voice_, said Mr. Voice. _It is I, Qui-Gon Jinn._ The Doctor nearly doubled over, and he would have done so had he not been asleep. Qui-Gon Jinn? How was that possible?

_That's not possible,_ said the Doctor. _You're dead. I watched you die._

_I learned the secret, Doctor,_ said Qui-Gon. _Just as the Whills figured out how to retain themselves after death, so too did I. I am now part of the Living Force, not merely a manifestation of it._ Qui-Gon, if it really was him, then proceeded to lift everything in the Doctor's quarters, even the Doctor, who could sense it all happening.

The Doctor was then dropped back down, at which point he jerked awake, breathing heavily from the revelation that Qui-Gon Jinn had learned to immortalize himself. The Doctor had not truly been sure that anyone had really learned such a secret. He thought that perhaps the Force was merely telling him what he wanted to hear. While his other selves welcomed regeneration, this Doctor secretly repulsed it, not wanting to regenerate because it felt, to him, like dying. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to go.

Panting, the Doctor stood and left his quarters, his mind whirring.

He was in attendance at a subsequent meeting of the Council, but only physically. His mind was off in distant lands, trying to contact Qui-Gon, but the late Jedi Master was nowhere to be found. It was like he had abandoned the Doctor, leaving him with just the revelation that he had indeed learned immortality. How had he achieved it? Did he meet the mysterious Whills? Why didn't they come to the Jedi about this secret? So many questions, but no answers were made available to him, and it was really quite frustrating.

"Doctor?" came a voice that didn't belong to Qui-Gon. In fact, it belonged to Plo Koon. "Doctor."

"Hm," said the Doctor, suddenly torn out of his thoughts. "Sorry. I was deep in thought." The Council, which was now comprised of the Doctor, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi Mundi, Plo, Saesee Tiin, Obi-Wan, Eeth Koth, Oppo Rancisis, Kit Fisto, Shaak Ti, Coleman Kcaj, and Ongree who had replaced Even Piell when he was killed in battle on Lola Sayu, and Stass, who had accepted the Council's request to join them, looked at each other warily, but the Doctor paid no heed, his mind threatening to pull him out of reality again. To counterbalance this, he said, "You were saying?"

"Master Mundi is worried," said Mace.

"Y-yes," stammered the Doctor. "We should all be. This war is clouding our vision, impeding our reality."

"The lies and deceit surrounding us in the Senate do not help matters," said Saesee.

"Perhaps even within the walls of the Temple, there is a measure of deceit," suggested Obi-Wan.

"Quite right," said the Doctor quietly. "We are all on the precipice. The Dark Side surrounds us all. It's a danger that we seem unprepared to face."

"What do you suggest, Doctor?" asked Stass, who was starting to become more vocal in the meetings. The Doctor barely heard her. His mind was still threatening to pull him out, so he decided to pull himself out.

"I don't-I don't know," he said. "Excuse me. I am very tired. I must rest. Shall we adjourn for now?"

"Of course, Doctor," said Mace, who was eyeing the Doctor worriedly. The Doctor had never felt Mace this worried about anything, but he paid little attention to it as he quickly rose and walked out of the High Council chamber. He felt a mental nudge from both Stass and Plo, but he didn't send one back for several minutes, and by then, he was in the Temple Garden, sitting by the old tree, trying to make sense of all this. But he couldn't. He simply couldn't. Not without Qui-Gon.

"Oh!" exclaimed a voice from behind him. Anakin, the Doctor quickly identified him. He must have been passing through on his way to some other activity of some sort "Doctor. I didn't see you there. I apologize." He paused for a moment, and the Doctor could sense the young Knight peering at him. "Is everything okay?"

"Sort of, Anakin," he said. "I've encountered something that's a bit difficult for me to swallow."

"Difficult?" asked Anakin, incredulous. "I find that pretty hard to believe, Doctor. This is you we're talking about here."

"Maybe so," said the Doctor with a small smile. "Even still..." Then, he remembered something. Anakin had encountered Qui-Gon's spirit once, too. Maybe he could help him.

"You said that you had encountered Master Qui-Gon Jinn during your time on the planet Mortis, correct?"

"Yes," said Anakin hesitantly. "So did Obi-Wan. But he's dead." The Doctor lowered his head a fraction. Anakin wouldn't believe him, most likely, but he had to try anyway.

"And since he's dead, we don't think it was him," Anakin continued. "Maybe it was a mind trick forged merely to trick us. That's what Obi-Wan believes, anyway. Why do you ask?"

The Doctor took a long moment to respond. He was trying to think of something to say that didn't make him sound completely bonkers. But he couldn't. So he responded with a question.

"Why do you think it wasn't Qui-Gon?" he asked.

"Everything we know about the Force tells us that for an individual to retain his or her identity after death is impossible," he explained. That was what the Doctor thought, too, until Qui-Gon had come to him.

"What about what we don't know, Anakin?" asked the Doctor seriously. "The Force is an ever-growing field of mysteries." Anakin, being the astute man he was, figured out what the Doctor was implying quickly.

"Doctor, are you suggesting that you have been able to contact Master Qui-Gon?" he asked. The tone with which he asked the question made the Doctor believe that Anakin had indeed thought him to be mad. Quickly, he retraced himself.

"N-n-no," he stammered. "I just need some rest. Yes, rest sounds lovely. After that, I shall speak with the Council."

With that, he walked off, leaving Anakin certainly puzzled.

That evening, the Doctor met with the other eleven members of the Council. They all looked about as worried as they had been that morning when the Doctor had zoned out of their earlier meeting.

"Doctor, are you feeling well?" asked Plo Koon.

"No, Master Koon," said the Doctor quietly. "I have to admit that I am not well. Not well at all."

"What's the matter, Doctor?" asked Obi-Wan.

"I've been speaking with someone," the Doctor tentatively began as he stood. "At first, I was curious about what this person had to say. Then, just last night, actually, this person revealed something that has deeply disturbed me. I'm not sure what to make of it. The person told me that they have been contacting me from beyond the veil of death." The Council all stared at the Doctor, wide-eyed that he would make such a claim.

"I know," said the Doctor, agreeing with their unspoken thoughts. "It's crazy, and it sounds impossible. I don't trust my own feelings. I have to know if what I am feeling is real or a fallacy. I need to know if any of you can hear it as well."

"Then we shall meditate, Doctor," announced Mace. "Together."

On Mace's order, the rest of the Council stood and joined the Doctor in the center of the chamber. The ones closest to him, Plo, Saesee, Obi-Wan, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Mace, and Stass, all placed a hand on his shoulder or, in Stass's case, his head, while the others, Oppo, Coleman, Kit, Shaak Ti, and Eeth, all placed hands on the shoulders of the Masters surrounding the Doctor himself.

And, as one, the Jedi High Council meditated.

The effort was taxing. It lasted throughout the night and well into the morning. All that time, the twelve Jedi Masters were straining their minds to hear the voice that the Doctor had heard. The Doctor tried his hardest to contact Qui-Gon, or to somehow get his attention, but instead he was left disappointed.

The other Council members were disappointed as well. The Doctor could sense that they could hear nothing as well, so he opened his eyes. It was no use continuing any longer, and his patience had run out.

"I can't hear anything," he sighed.

"I did not sense anything, either," said Mace. The Doctor stepped away from his fellow Council members, defeated once again and running out of options.

"We're not going to find answers this way," said the Doctor, sighing in slight frustration. "I've grown tired. I need rest."

"We may need to consider another alternative," suggested Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"And that is?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Not to undermine you, Doctor," apologized the Cerean, "but maybe this voice you've been contacting, for whatever amount of time it was, has just been a deception laid out for you by the Sith."

"You're not seriously suggesting that the Doctor is susceptible to that kind of an attack, are you, Master Mundi?" asked Stass, rushing to the Doctor's defense. The Doctor smiled a little as her willingness to do so, but his friend, Ki-Adi-Mundi, was right.

"I have to agree with Master Mundi, Stass," said the Doctor. "It's unlikely, but it's a possibility we have to consider. I am very, very old. Perhaps I've gotten a bit weaker with age."

"The Dark Side has clouded much of our former vision," Plo chimed in. "Perhaps the Doctor has indeed been deceived."

"I may have been," said the Doctor. "Still, I need to know the truth. I'll go to the medical wing and have them scan my body and my brain. Perhaps those doctors can find an answer for this Doctor."

The Council adjourned, and Mace, Obi-Wan, Plo, Stass, Saesee, and Ki-Adi-Mundi all accompanied the Doctor to the medical wing of the Jedi Temple. There, they met with Doctor Rig Nema, a Jedi who specialized in medical procedures and needs.

"Hello," she said warmly. "How can I help, Doctor?"

"I need you to scan my body and brain," said the Doctor. "There's something wrong. I have to find out what's going on with me, and this appears to be the only feasible option I have now."

"Of course, Doctor," said Doctor Nema, adopting a worried expression at the Doctor's statement about something being wrong with him. "Right this way."

The Doctor and his fellow Council members walked behind Doctor Nema into the medical room. The Doctor laid down on one of the beds there, and Doctor Nema told him that she would induce a sleep-like state on him while he was being scanned. The Doctor nodded his approval to begin, and he was soon sound asleep as the strong medicines she used for Masters as powerful took hold of him. Interestingly, he thought of both Qui-Gon and Stass equally as he slept.

* * *

The Doctor awoke to find Mace had been replaced by Anakin. The Knight quickly explained that Mace had gone to a meeting with Chancellor Palpatine in his stead. The Doctor sat up slowly, and asked Doctor Nema what she had found.

"Your brain is very active here," she said, pointing to a spot near the back of the Doctor's impressive brain on her medical datapad. "As for your body, you are completely healthy. Nothing wrong to report there."

"Okay," said the Doctor. "So, now we need to get to that part of my brain and figure out just how many cowboys are in there."

"Doctor Nema suggested a deprivation ritual," said Obi-Wan. "But it will be quite dangerous."

"Do it," said the Doctor immediately.

"Are you sure?" asked Doctor Nema, worried about his instantaneous response.

"Absolutely," said the Doctor. "I need answers. This is the way to find them."

"Very well, Doctor," said Doctor Nema. "I'll prepare the procedure."

It took her maybe ten minutes to prepare the deprivation chamber and strap the Doctor into a harness that would lift him up into the chamber. Stass watched tentatively as the Doctor was strapped in and lifted up above the chamber, which was filled with a strange sort of liquid that was used especially for this procedure. The Doctor smiled at her, trying to tell her that he would be okay as Doctor Nema explained what was going to happen.

"The chamber will deprive you of any external stimuli, Doctor," she said. "Essentially, it will be like meditation. You will go deeper than anything you could achieve by yourself."

"Brilliant!" said the Doctor, remaining cheerful. "Maybe now I'll get some answers."

"Doctor, you don't have to do this," said Plo.

"I have to find answers, Plo," said the Doctor. "This is the only way."

"It could be very dangerous," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"I am," said the Doctor. "Begin the procedure, Doctor."

"As you wish, Doctor," said Doctor Nema with a small smirk at the little play on words she had made. She hit the lever to lower the Doctor, and he took in a deep breath, planning to hold it in for as long as he could.

A blue mist swirled around him, and the Doctor began to feel very dizzy. He started to lose consciousness as the air that had entered his lungs slowly flowed out of him.

_Doctor_, called the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn at last. _This is not the way._

Instantly, the Doctor was transported to a swampy planet, the same planet that Qui-Gon and the Force had shown him when they suggested that Anakin was ready to become a Jedi Knight. He could still feel the liquid in the deprivation chamber, so he knew he was here only in spirit, not in body.

_You must come to Dagobah_, said Qui-Gon. _The answers you so desperately seek are here._

_But why? _asked the Doctor. _Why here?_

_You must complete what I was unable to_, Qui-Gon simply said. The Doctor could now hear voices. Obi-Wan, Anakin, Plo, Saesee, Ki-Adi, and Stass were all calling for him to come out of the trance.

_Tell nobody of this,_ ordered Qui-Gon. _Trust no one. Come alone._

_I will,_ said the Doctor. The Gallifreyan's consciousness was transported back to Coruscant, where he awoke, spluttering and coughing out the liquid of the deprivation chamber. He felt so happy all of a sudden. He wasn't so crazy after all. He now had a place to find his answers.

"Welcome back, my friend," said Saesee as he and Stass helped the Doctor to stand. "What did you see?"

"I was speaking to the dead," said the Doctor, a dreamy smile on his face. "Friends who have been gone a long time." The Council members and Doctor Nema looked at him warily. Even Stass was perplexed by his statements. The Doctor could sense her confusion, as well as the confusion of everyone else in the room.

Thinking that the Doctor was unbalanced, Mace Windu, after speaking with Doctor Nema and the Council members about the procedure and its aftermath, decided that the Doctor rest, having Temple Guards placed around him at all times. This was not what the Doctor needed. He needed to get to the swampy planet, Dagobah. Formulating a plan, the Doctor asked Doctor Nema if he could see Anakin. She obliged, and the Jedi Knight entered as Doctor Nema exited.

"Hello, Anakin," said the Doctor.

"You wanted to see me, Doctor?" asked Anakin.

"Yes," answered the Doctor. "We're friends, right?"

"Of course," said Anakin.

"Anakin, you're going to have to make a choice now," said the Doctor. "Though I'll be honest. I'm a bit worried for you."

"Why?"

"I need you to do something for me. You're going to be blamed for it."

"Uh, what must I do?" asked Anakin, unsure of what the Doctor was planning.

"Help me escape," whispered the Doctor.

"Escape? But you're not in prison," said Anakin.

"Maybe not," said the Doctor. "But maybe I am," he added, eyeing the vigilant Temple Guards. "I have to go on an adventure. Alone."

"The Council won't want you to travel, Doctor," objected Anakin.

"Yes, and disobeying them is certainly your expertise," countered the Doctor. "Your spontaneity is exactly why I asked you here. It sets you apart for the others. Come on. You're going to take me for a walk."

The Temple Guards tried to stop him from leaving, but Anakin came to the Doctor's defense.

"It's okay, guys," he said. "He's with me."

The Guards stepped aside as the Doctor and Anakin strode out of the medical room and into the hangar. There, they found R2-D2, a quirky little droid whom the Doctor had come to respect immensely. Anakin told the little astromech that he needed to help the Doctor leave Coruscant as fast as possible. The astromech heartily agreed, and the Doctor and the droid were soon leaving Coruscant in the Doctor's deep blue Eta-2 Actis-class starfighter.

Dagobah was quite far from Coruscant, so it took the Doctor and R2 a few hours to reach it, but when they did, the Doctor could sense why Qui-Gon chose this place. The life on this planet nearly blinded the Doctor; its Force signature was that bright. The Doctor piloted his starfighter into the atmosphere, being very careful not to hit any of the massive trees that had grown throughout the millennia of its existence.

When the Doctor disembarked from the starfighter, R2 beeped and whistled at him. He wanted to stay with the ship.

"Of course, R2," said the Doctor. "This is for me alone anyway."

The Doctor walked through the swamps of Dagobah, and he found the dismal little planet actually quite lovely. All of the life here went undisturbed since the beginning of time. One could easily hide himself here, especially if he were a Jedi, the Doctor noted. He smiled at every creature that passed by him with a big grin that some of the animals saw and didn't quite understand. Regardless, he found a spot that was even more quiet than the rest of the planet and tried to contact Qui-Gon again.

"Here I am, Qui-Gon," he said. "Ready for instructions."

After a few seconds, Qui-Gon came back.

_Doctor, my friend_, he said openly, without entering the Doctor's thoughts. _You have come_.

"It's really you, isn't it?" asked the Doctor with a smile. "I'm not going mad!"

_No, my old friend_, said Qui-Gon. _You are not going mad. As for your instructions, follow the light. It will be your guide._ The Doctor looked around and saw the light that Qui-Gon had spoken of. It swirled and danced around him as the Doctor stood to follow it. He followed the light further and further away from his ship and R2. He decided to make some light conversation with Qui-Gon.

"This planet is really quite strong in the Force," he commented.

_It is one of the purest planets in the galaxy,_ remarked Qui-Gon.

"By the way, how are you here?" asked the Doctor, curious to know how his friend had gotten to be this way.

_What I told you initially wasn't entirely false,_ Qui-Gon explained as the Doctor followed the light even further. _I am a manifestation of the Force, which consists of two parts. The living beings of the universe generate the Living Force, which in turn powers the Cosmic Force. Unfortunately, my training was incomplete, and I cannot manifest myself physically, although I can speak to others if I so choose. All energy from the Living Force feeds into the Cosmic Force. It binds the galaxy together and can communicate to us through the midi-chlorians in our cells. That is how I can speak to you, Doctor._

"Can you see the future?" asked the Doctor, which was a sort of lead-in question for his next one.

_I exist where there is no future or past,_ said Qui-Gon.

"Fascinating. So you might know if there is a Darth Sidious and who he might be?" asked the Doctor.

_I can show you a place where you might find the answer to your question_, said Qui-Gon. The light then led the Doctor over to a tree with a cave inside. It was the same tree that had been shown to him in the vision about Anakin, the one infested with Dark Side energy. The Doctor grimaced at the irony of it before heading inside after a moment of purification of his thoughts.

_Be careful, Doctor,_ warned Qui-Gon as the Doctor crossed the threshold of the tree-cave.

As the Doctor walked through, he became acutely aware of a dark mist that was following him. When he stopped, it surrounded him. The Doctor became worried when it grew larger and larger. It then began to show him things, and the Doctor became downright terrified of what he saw.

He saw Jedi, good friends of his, running to battle some enemy. This enemy turned out to be the clone soldiers who were supposed to be fighting with them. How was that possible? Even if it were possible, why would the clones be fighting the Jedi?

The dark mist didn't give an answer, merely moving on to the next vision. This one was even scarier than the first. The Doctor heard a scream that sounded far less than human, and he saw four Jedi, being pounced upon by a lone Sith Lord. The first Jedi was Agen Kolar. The Jedi Master didn't even have enough time to react to the Sith's blade. He was cut down almost instantly. The second Jedi, Aayla Secura, was slashed across the chest as soon as the Sith had killed Agen. The third Jedi, Kit Fisto, rushed the Sith Lord, but he was cut down, too.

"No!" a voice cried. "No! You will die!" The Doctor then saw Mace Windu getting electrocuted by painful Sith lightning from the same Sith Lord who had cut down Agen, Aayla, and Kit. It was unbearable to watch, even for a second. The Doctor looked away, but Mace's screams still pierced him.

"Sidious," the voice moaned. "Sidious." A hooded figure shrouded in red smoke began to rise up above the Doctor and stared him down. The Doctor concluded that this figure was indeed the Darth Sidious whose existence was debated for many months by the Jedi Council.

"Join me," Sidious said menacingly. "There is no other way." A red Sith blade extended, and the Doctor could watch no longer.

"No!" he cried, not wanting those visions to become a reality. "No!" The smoke dissipated, and the Doctor rushed out of the cave as quickly as possible.

"When will that take place?" he asked Qui-Gon, who had hopefully been waiting for him to return. "When will that evil rise?"

_It is happening right now,_ said Qui-Gon. _With each day the Clone War wages, evil gains strength. What you saw is a portion of the Dark Side's power._

"Is there hope for the Jedi?" asked the Doctor.

_Always, though not in a form commonly looked for. The key is seizing the opportunity when it strikes. I have been tasked with guiding you towards that hope. Your path is clear, Doctor. You must pick up where I have left off._

"And that is?"

_You must learn to preserve yourself after death. This is the path of only a few Jedi, and you are one of them. To take your final test, you must go to the planet from which all life originates._

"Where?"

_The Force will guide you. Goodbye, my friend._ With that, Qui-Gon's presence left Dagobah. It was a minute change in the overall Force signature of Dagobah, but the Doctor felt it nonetheless.

The Doctor returned to his starfighter, and R2 beeped, asked him if he was alright.

"Yes, I'm fine R2," said the Doctor.

The astromech asked if they were going back to Coruscant.

"Not yet, R2," responded the Doctor. "I've still got a few things left to do first."

So the Doctor piloted the starfighter according to the guidance of the Force.

After many hours of searching, the Doctor found the planet he was searching for at last. Tendrils of light and gas billowed around the planet and encompassed it entirely. The Doctor could feel the Force signature here, and Dagobah paled in comparison.

"I think this is the place," said the Doctor.

R2 reported in to him rather frantically that the gas was blocking their scanners.

"I can still sense the planet, though," countered the Doctor. "Oh, it's definitely here."

The Doctor eagerly piloted the starfighter into the gas, not caring about what it might do to the ship itself. And the gas certainly did something.

That something was shutting down all forms of navigation and taking over the controls. At first, the Doctor thought it was R2 doing that. When the astromech squealed that he wasn't doing it, the Doctor realized that the Force was guiding him. He let it, and the ship soon landed in some sort of crater. From it burst one of the tendrils that stretched out into space and felt so strong in the Force.

"Not quite sure where we are," said the Doctor as he exited the ship. The Gallifreyan fell to his hands and knees, licking the ground, tasting it. It tasted very sweet, like honey.

"Yup," he concluded. "Definitely strong in the Force."

R2 jumped out of the ship and tried to scan the planet, but his scanners picked up nothing.

"That's okay, R2," said the Doctor. "I didn't expect them to. Here. Take these." He handed his lightsabers off to R2, who was feeling a bit inadequate. "I won't need them."

R2 whined that he wanted to go with the Doctor.

"No, no," said the Doctor. "This leg of the journey is for me alone. I'll see you later, R2." With that, the Doctor jumped back into his starfighter and flew into the opening in the crater from which the tendril of Force energy grew. The Doctor found the light it gave off to be really quite beautiful, and the planet inside the surface was equally beautiful. He truly loved the universe, and seeing those floating mounds of rock with all different kinds of foliage and that bright orange that reminded him so much of Gallifrey reaffirmed that love.

The Doctor found a space wide enough for his starfighter to land, and he jumped out and immediately began exploring the planet with no name. He walked along to the edge of the floating rock and peered out into the open canvas of planet. He could see a few animals walking or flying around, and he was at peace here. He felt as though he could live here for the rest of his lives.

"Doctor," an ethereal voice called.

"Who's there?" asked the Doctor, spinning around to see who had called out to him. "I've travelled quite a long way, and I'm looking for ones who can teach me."

"But are you worthy of being taught?" asked the voice, which came from a ball of light that was drawing ever closer to the Doctor. It grew brighter and brighter until it formed into a womanly figure that floated around him. Whenever her feet touched the ground, life grew from that spot. She wore some kind of mask that bore a permanent expression of impassivity, serenity.

"You're late," she said. "You look different than we thought you would, but we know it is you, Doctor. We have waited a long time for you."

"Late?" asked the Doctor. "How did you know I was even coming?"

"We watch over all life in the galaxy," she said. "Especially those who are strong in the Force. Your arrival was inevitable, though which of your faces you would bear remained somewhat of a mystery to us." The Doctor thought it was odd that she had watched him, and that she kept referring to herself as "we," but maybe there were others like her, the Doctor reasoned.

"Come," she ordered. "We must begin."

She floated off, and the Doctor, like a Padawan following his Master, trailed after her floating form. As they journeyed on, the Doctor noticed that the foliage did not impede their path. Rather, it moved out of the way of the serene woman as though it had a mind of its own and knew to avoid her and those like her.

Eventually, the serene woman and the Doctor arrived at a cave with a very small opening. The opening grew larger as soon as they arrived, and they strolled into a large room that looked to be made of stone. There were intricate patterns that reminded the Doctor of Old High Gallifreyan on the floor and walls, and they lit up as the serene woman spoke.

"Cousins, I have a guest," she said. Instantly, four more balls of light appeared before the Doctor and the serene woman.

"You should not have brought him before us," said an angry voice that belonged to a woman like the serene woman, but with an angry-faced mask on.

"He is filled to the brim with the Force," said a sad voice. This voice belonged to a woman with a sad mask on her face. Two more women appeared, with a confused mask and a happy mask, and the five woman spoke to each other about him.

"Why is he here?" asked the confused woman, bending down to him. "Why are you here?"

"I was told I could learn from you," said the Doctor, not quite believing it himself. "I understand you can tell me how to manifest myself after death."

"It's impossible," said the sad woman. "He will fail with the Gift."

_Some faith you have, _thought the Doctor.

"He will disappoint us and himself," she continued.

"No, no, I do not see that," said the happy woman.

"His destiny is set," intervened the serene woman. "We cannot decide it for him."

"But why him?" cried the sad woman. "He can already prolong his life with the power of his species. Why does he need our Great Gift?"

"He is to teach those who will save the universe from unspeakable evil, and he will guide them along the path right up until the end." answered the serene woman. "For this, the Great Gift shall be his." This intrigued the Doctor. So he would help save the universe. He thought it very interesting indeed as the women continued speaking about him.

"He has no idea of the responsibility he will carry!" shouted the angry woman.

"I admit that you are right," said the Doctor. "But I know you will guide me down the path."

"Do you know what you must face in order to achieve our Gift?" asked the angry woman.

"No," said the Doctor.

"Good," sneered the angry woman. "Then you won't be afraid." At this, all five of the women laughed.

"Do I have a blessing, then?" asked the serene woman when they had had their laugh. "Can we begin his training?"

"It is so," said the other four.

"Do you come to us with good intentions and light in your hearts?" asked the serene woman to the Doctor.

"Yes," answered the Doctor immediately. He had worked very hard for the past three years for this, following Qui-Gon's teachings about compassion. He was ready.

"Then I give the blessing. Your training can begin," said the serene woman. Instantly, the five began to circle around the Doctor. Faster and faster they spun around him, and the room began to turn white. They were teleporting him, the Doctor could tell.

"Do not disappoint us, sainted physician," said the voice of the angry woman as the Doctor was transported away from the room and closer to his destiny.

The Doctor awoke on one of the floating rocks, but it wasn't quite the same one he had landed on, as far as he could tell. He couldn't see his ship anywhere. What he could see was the serene woman, floating before him in her heavenly majesty. There were so many questions he had wanted to ask her. He started off with the most general.

"What is this place?" he asked. "What do you call it?"

"This place has no name," said the serene woman. "Everything you see here is the foundation of life. It is the birthplace of the organisms known to you and your science as midi-chlorians. It connects the Living Force and the Cosmic Force together." As she said this, she touched one of the flora surrounding the two of them. The power of her touch caused the plant to shrivel up and die, sending golden energy waves into the air.

"When a living thing dies, all is removed," she continued. "Life passes from the Living Force into the Cosmic Force. It becomes one with the Cosmic Force. One powers the other. One feeds the other. One renews the other."

"This is true," said the Doctor.

"Come," said the serene woman. The Doctor followed her to a series of floating mushroom-like objects. While the serene woman could merely float over them, the Doctor had to jump them, listening to the serene woman as she spoke.

"At death, if you want to preserve your identity, you must come face-to-face with yourself, your true self, and let go," she explained as they neared a stormy island that spouted dark lightning every now and again. "There," she pointed to the island, "you will find all that remains unconquered. In your existence, some might call it evil. Others call it fear. Others still refer to it as the unknown. You must conquer the unknown within you if the journey to immortality is to be undertaken. You must free yourself."

"With respect, I'm a Jedi Master," said the Doctor. "I know all that dwells within me, and I've conquered it already."

"Have you?" asked the serene woman, who sounded as though she knew something the Doctor didn't. "Then face your unknown and defeat it." With that, she transformed into a ball of light and sped off towards the island. The Doctor grinned and jumped and ran after her. The mushrooms were stable enough to not collapse under the Doctor's weight, for which the Gallifreyan was thankful as he continued on towards the island. He was a bit curious as to what he would find within himself there, but he knew he could conquer it with his superior mind and the power of his will. He was ready for anything.

Almost.

The Doctor hadn't really expected to find what he did. Perhaps that was why the serene woman called it his unknown.

He made it to the island and entered into the range of its massive storm cloud. It was much darker here, and the Doctor noticed a significant drop in temperature. Not that it affected him in any way, as Gallifreyans were used to very extreme environments, but it was worth noting to the Doctor as he tried to figure this place out.

"Welcome," said a voice from the shadows. "I've been waiting to finally meet you." The Doctor then saw a man step into the light, where he could get a good view of him. The man looked war-torn. His gray hair and beard was cropped short, adding to the look of the old warrior. He was a bit on the short side, and he wore a rough leather jacket and combat boots and pants. Around his chest, a bandoleer was strapped, from which hung a single lightsaber. The Doctor recognized that saber. It looked like an upgraded version of the lightsaber he carried as his eighth self. But that was impossible. His ninth self had destroyed that lightsaber after he regenerated and built the two he used now.

"Who are you?" asked the Doctor.

"I am known by many names," said the old warrior. "The Demon, the Beast, the Valeyard, the Renegade, the Oncoming Storm. But, in my younger days, I was known by only one name. In those days, I was called the Doctor."

* * *

**Oh, by the way, this is that "Secret" chapter I was talking about earlier. That old warrior, if you didn't guess it already, is indeed the War Doctor. He'll be fleshed out in the next chapter, which is aptly named "The War Doctor." Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? Let me know in a review!**

**Aaaaaaand for those of you who thought Qui-Gon was Mr. Voice's true identity, you would be absolutely correct! Congratulations! You've won a free internet! Qui-Gon Jinn, despite not appearing in anything after TCW canon-wise, will make at least one "appearance" to the Doctor, or maybe some other character, in each volume. Don't worry. There will be no shortage of Liam Neeson's voice in this story!**

**For me, as I'm posting this chapter, school starts tomorrow. I'll be posting chapters when I actually remember to do it, but I'll make sure I post at least once a week, if I can't do twice a week. That should be fun! We're actually getting down to the wire for TCW, only three more chapters plus the epilogue. Then, it's on to Revenge of the Sith! Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUN! Should be great! I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**In case you haven't gotten the Doctor-Who-related news, there are three little tidbits I want to share with you.**

**1. Concerning the Twelfth Doctor: Peter Capaldi has agreed to stay as the Twelfth Doctor until, at the very least, Series 9 of Doctor Who. This should be exciting for anybody who likes Capaldi's Doctor, and not so exciting for anyone who doesn't. Obviously, it's too early to tell a whole lot about whether or not he'll be good, as they've only given little snippets of the Twelfth Doctor. But, from what I've seen, I think he's got the potential to be a funny Doctor, like several of his predecessors, but also a bit of a darker Doctor, like he was at times in Classic Who.**

**2: Concerning Clara Oswald: This news breaks my heart because I love Clara with a passion. Unfortunately, Jenna Coleman has decided to call it quits after Series 8, meaning that there will be no more Clara after Series 8. It's probably for the best, though. Many actors on Doctor Who call it quits of their own accord after doing a series or two. Patrick Troughton gave up the role of the Second Doctor after three series because he didn't want to be typecast as the Second Doctor. That's probably similar to what Jenna is thinking. She has a, hopefully, long career ahead of her, and it won't do her very well to be typecast as Clara Oswald because she stayed on the show forever.**

**3: Concerning the Master: There has been a rumor that the Master was going to be a villain in Series 8. Steven Moffat has announced that there will NOT be an appearance made by the Master in Series 8, and there probably won't be in any future Doctor Who story as long as Moffat is head writer. As much as I loved John Simm's Master and the character of the Master in general, I can see where Moffat is going with this. Moffat stated that Russell T. Davies did such a good job with the Master that he feels as though he has nothing to add to the character. And he would probably be right. John Simm's Master was truly excellent, so congrats to RTD for that. Once Moffat leaves the show as head writer, will we see the Master again? Maybe, but I'm not entirely sure. In any case, we've got plenty of villains to look forward to in Series 8, so that should be cool.**

**In any case, that about wraps up this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	12. The War Doctor

Chapter Eleven: The War Doctor

The Doctor stared at the warrior. This man could certainly not have been him. The Doctor had never once regenerated into any man who looked like him. It was impossible. He thought he had been prepared, but he was completely and utterly wrong.

"You're not me," said the Doctor. "You can't be me."

"But I am, Doctor," said the warrior. "I am your unknown."

"Unknown how?" asked the Doctor.

"I am the War Doctor," said the warrior. "I am what you would have become had you fought in the Time War."

Of course. It made sense. This part of him was unknown because it hadn't existed in his time.

"As you no doubt recall, your eighth regeneration was a pivotal moment in your life," said the War Doctor. "The Jedi Council of the time gave you a choice."

"I remember," said the Doctor. "They would have aided me in my regeneration. They would use their combined command over the Force to turn me into a warrior who could fight in the ever-growing Time War."

"You refused," said the War Doctor. "You regenerated into your ninth self. And, in your time, Gallifrey destroyed itself. The Gallifreyans are all dead, save you. Because you ran, you survived."

"I didn't run," said the Doctor, trying his best to defend himself. "My eighth self felt that fighting in the Time War would have been too personal for me, so he chose not to. My ninth self went along with my eighth self's choice, right up until the War finally ended and Gallifrey was destroyed. He and I regretted not fighting. If there was anything I could have changed about my life, I would have fought."

"You would have been me," said the War Doctor.

"What about in your time?" asked the Doctor. "What happens to Gallifrey then?"

"If you had accepted the Council's offer and become me, you would have fought for fifty years," said the War Doctor.

"That's not possible," said the Doctor. "The War ended sixty years ago, a hundred years after my eighth regeneration."

"Ah, but you're missing part of my tale, Doctor," said the War Doctor. "Me. I would have ended the War early. Because I fought, the War ended early."

"Go on," said the Doctor, interested to see the other side of his decision.

"The Time War dragged on. The Skaroan Gallifreyans of the North had invented new war machines called Daleks. They ran rampant through Gallifrey, killing everyone in their path. They regenerated, of course, only to be killed again. The Drolemit Gallifreyans of the South were no better. They would use their own war machines, Tardises, to burn down entire cities of Skaroan citizens, all in the name of peace."

As the War Doctor spoke and paced around the Doctor, the Gallifreyan Jedi recalled reports of the advent of the Daleks and the Tardises, the war machines of the separate factions in the Time War. He knew that the Skaroans had committed major atrocities with their Daleks, but he had no idea that the Drolemits, his own people, had done the same with their Tardises.

"I had allied myself with the Drolemits because of their stability and their kindness towards the Republic and the Jedi," said the War Doctor. "Even though they were not a part of the Republic, the Drolemits maintained a healthy and friendly relationship with them. The Skaroans wanted to kill me when I first landed on Gallifrey. The Drolemits took me in, absorbed me into their ranks. I was made a commander, and given many missions to complete. For the first thirty years, I fought bravely and loyally for the Drolemits, and I was absorbed into the hell of the Time War.

"I had ceased contact with my Jedi brethren. They thought me to be dead, and they abandoned me. The Jedi abandoned me, Doctor. You can't imagine how that felt. I became angry. I flirted constantly with the Dark Side. I challenged my superiors. I became ruthless. I killed my men for their failures. And it felt good."

The Doctor was horrified that he would have done those things. He hadn't even done them, but he still felt the anger placed in the War Doctor's actions as if he had performed them himself.

"Eventually, I came to view the Drolemits as incompetent. They were not capable of ending the War by themselves. Not without my guidance, which they seemed to ignore in favor of burning more Skaroan cities and villages down to the ground while the Skaroan Daleks did the same to them. So I left. The Drolemits labelled me Renegade, and they ordered their troops to shoot me on sight. For the next fifteen years, I fought to get away from them. I couldn't get a ship from either side to get off Gallifrey; they were too well protected. I was trapped. I watched as the War raged on, ceaseless. I realized that both sides of the conflict did not deserve to be victorious at the end, so I put a plan in motion to end the War myself."

The Doctor shuddered. He didn't like where the War Doctor was going.

"For the last five years of the War, I gathered strength. I centered myself in the Force, and I became exponentially stronger. My plan was simple, yet brilliant. I would learn Force Corrupt and use it to convince Drolemits and Skaroans alike to fight with me for a short time. I would then steal a ship, then end the War myself with my gathered power.

"I waited very patiently, then the moment came at last. I knew in my old bones that this was it. It was now or never. I put my plan to action, corrupting a few Drolemits and stealing one of their freighters. Then, I ended the War."

"How?" asked the Doctor, afraid of the answer. His voice was cracking a little. "How did you end it? Please don't tell me you-"

"Yes, Doctor," said the War Doctor. "I used the Force to destroy Gallifrey." The shock was not that he had destroyed Gallifrey himself. The Doctor, though he was saddened by the destruction of Gallifrey in his own time, was used to the idea of Gallifrey being destroyed. The only change in the War Doctor's story as the Doctor recalled it was his own lack of involvement and the fact that Gallifrey had been destroyed by the constant warring of the Drolemits and the Skaroans, not by the Doctor.

The shock was the impassivity with which the War Doctor relayed the events. It angered the Doctor immensely.

"You committed genocide," said the Doctor, fury boiling within him.

"I did what I had to do to end the War," said the War Doctor. "The Gallifreyans would have destroyed themselves regardless. You know this. I simply expedited the process by doing it myself."

"A true Jedi would never use the Force for such an unspeakable act," accused the Doctor. "Only a Sith would do something so despicably evil!"

"I am neither Sith nor Jedi!" shouted the War Doctor. "They do not exist in my timeline."

"What?!" cried the Doctor. "What happened to them?"

"After I ended the War, I found the Jedi," explained the War Doctor. "I killed them o mercy and without compromise. None were spared. They left me to die on that hellhole of a planet. They deserved that same punishment. They all died."

The Doctor felt as though he were going to be sick. This man had committed double-genocide, and he was okay with it. What kind of monster was he?

"The Sith came out of hiding and pledged themselves to my power, naming me the Valeyard," said the War Doctor. "I responded by decapitating both of them with this very lightsaber." He took the lightsaber out of his bandoleer and activated it. It produced a blood-red blade, contrasting sharply with the cerulean blue blade that the lightsaber of his eighth self had produced.

"It's different than I remember it," said the Doctor, nodding to the blade that had killed so many. The War Doctor had killed three different cultures, two of them with that blade. The Doctor's anger grew immensely.

"I perfected it," said the War Doctor. "I tuned the circuitry, gave it a nice cleaning. I even changed the color. I find that red suits me. The blue of our eighth self portrayed serenity, a weakness inherent in many, especially the Jedi."

"You've embraced the Dark Side, then," growled the Doctor as the War Doctor deactivated his lightsaber and put it back in his bandoleer. He despised the War Doctor, especially after hearing what he did to his people, the Jedi, and even the Sith.

"I have not embraced the Dark Side, Doctor. I AM the Dark Side," said the War Doctor. "I am _your_ Dark Side. As such, I am the Doctor."

"You are not the Doctor," snarled the Doctor. "You are a twisted, evil monster."

The War Doctor grinned evilly and said, "A monster, you say? I can sense your hatred for me, Doctor. That is not the way of the Jedi."

"Triple-genocide isn't the way of the Jedi, either," said the Doctor. "Yet here you are."

"I told you," countered the War Doctor. "I am not a Jedi. Nor am I a Sith. I am you, Doctor."

"You are not me," argued the Doctor. "I do not recognize you."

"Then you do not see what is inside you," said the War Doctor.

"Oh, I see you, all right," said the Doctor. "I simply choose not to give you any power."

"Do you really?" asked the War Doctor. "Let's recap, then. I am what you would have become had you fought in the Time War. You are now spending all your time in the decadence of the Clone War. That's a galaxy-wide conflict. How is it any different?"

"I have been learning pure, unadulterated compassion," answered the Doctor. "Something in which you are sorely lacking."

"But I am growing inside of you, Doctor," said the War Doctor. "With each passing day of death and destruction, I threaten to turn you, stronger with each attempt."

"Good thing I found you when I did, then," countered the Doctor. "Otherwise, I'd be a bit less sane with having you crawling around in my head."

"Then face me, Doctor," said the War Doctor. "Let's battle for control of your soul. Know your true self. Face me."

"As you wish," said the Doctor.

And he launched himself at the War Doctor, his Dark Side.

For someone who looked as old as he did, the War Doctor moved surprisingly fast. The Doctor got the jump on him at first, but the War Doctor countered it easily. He slammed the Doctor into a rock wall they had fought towards. The Doctor recovered quickly and aimed a punch at his gut. The War Doctor, expecting the move, caught his fist and swung the Doctor around into another rock face. The Doctor rolled out of the way of the War Doctor's combat boot, which impacted the rock where his head had been with such force that it got stuck for a moment. The Doctor used this moment to pull the War Doctor's lightsaber out of his bandoleer and throw it far away.

"Now you're weaponless," taunted the Doctor. "You've got to face me man-to-man."

"Fool," said the War Doctor as his boot came out of the rock. "I don't need a weapon to kill Jedi like you! I killed plenty of your kind with my bare hands! YOUR bare hands!"

The Doctor lunged at the War Doctor, angered by the very thought of the War Doctor considering himself to be a part of the Doctor himself. He punched the War Doctor square in the face, but the War Doctor countered with a kick to the Doctor's stomach that caused him to double over. The War Doctor picked the Doctor up and threw him across the cavern in which they fought. He jumped high in the air, pouncing on the Doctor and aiming a fist towards the Doctor's head, threatening to crush it. The Doctor swerved out of the way, tripping the War Doctor. The Doctor used the momentary lapse in the War Doctor's assault to pin him to the ground.

"You are not a part of me!" said the Doctor.

"But I am, Doctor," growled the War Doctor. "I am part of all that lives!"

The Doctor's feet gave out under him after a careful sweep of the legs by the War Doctor. The War Doctor stomped on the Doctor's chest with such force that the wind was knocked completely out of him. The War Doctor kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying across the cavern. The Doctor tried to get up, but the War Doctor stopped him by punching him so hard that he had no choice but to have his face meet the ground. The War Doctor picked him up by the collar of his cloak, headbutted him, then proceeded to beat him senseless.

"I give you power!" shouted the War Doctor as he punched and kicked the Doctor. "Why do you hate me?!"

The War Doctor threw the Doctor across the cavern once more, and he walked slowly towards the beaten and bruised Gallifreyan.

"You don't think me worthy of being the Doctor, do you?" he asked as he made his way towards the Doctor.

It was in that moment that the Doctor realized something. Something he had not seen before. He was the one who was truly in control here. He could defeat the War Doctor.

"I recognize you," he said slowly. This made the War Doctor stop right in his tracks.

"What?" he asked, confused. The War Doctor, in his confusion, lunged once more at the Doctor. The Doctor managed to stop him with the Force. The War Doctor had no true power over him.

"You are a part of me, but you are a part of me that never was given time to surface," he said as he began to pull the War Doctor towards him. The War Doctor adopted an expression of fear. The Doctor could sense his fear as he continued speaking.

"As the Eighth Doctor, I defeated you the moment I refused to fight in the Time War," said the Doctor. "As the Tenth Doctor, I am here to finish you." He pulled at him again. "You are an incarnation of me who could have been, but you never were." He pulled again. The War Doctor was now actively trying to get away from him.

"You have no power here," continued the Doctor. "I am the one who has learned to control you through training and centuries of patience." Again he pulled. The War Doctor was powerless to stop him, and he was thrown back even further towards the Doctor.

"You have no control over me!" shouted the Doctor as he pulled the War Doctor so hard that the two were staring each other right in the face.

"You are the Doctor," said the Doctor. "You are my Dark Side. And I reject you!" The Doctor gripped the head of the War Doctor, and the War Doctor instantly began to dissipate away from him. With a final scream, the War Doctor dissolved and ceased to exist. What remained of the War Doctor scattered into the air, never to be seen again. The Doctor grinned as he fell to his knees, nearly exhausted from the effort. He had done it.

He had conquered his Dark Side.

* * *

**It's here! At long last! I'll tell you right now, guys: I was really excited to write this chapter, and I hope you guys like it. I know that War, Ten, and Eleven didn't fight in the 50th anniversary episode or anything, but I thought it would be cool to make War the Doctor's "Dark Side," since he sort of is, in a way. Of course, he wasn't that dark in the show. He was just trying to do the right thing, but I don't necessarily have to hold to that.**

**Also, I believe that this is the first time that we really delve into the concept of regeneration in the story. I also allude to some of the ages of the different Doctors, like saying that the War ended a hundred years after the Ninth Doctor was born from the Eighth, making him over a hundred. He actually regenerated ten years after the War ended, which makes Nine a hundred and ten years old and Ten (thus far, anyway) fifty years old. As I post more of the story, I'll reveal a general timeline of the Doctor's life and major events (basically regeneration, start of the story, Clone War, Galactic Civil War, end, etc.)**

**Speaking of posting, I'll be posting a chapter once every Friday. I know it's Saturday today, but I was really busy writing RotJ last night, which is LITERALLY TWO CHAPTERS AND AN EPILOGUE AWAY FROM BEING FINISHED OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS SO EXCITING AAAAAAHHHHHH!**

***ahem* Anyway, yeah, I'm really close to finishing Return of the Jedi. So, when I finish that, I'll post a celebratory chapter whenever I do (even if it isn't Friday) to let you guys know. In that next chapter, I'll probably also talk about Episode 2 of Series 8, which I may or may not miss tonight because I'm going to a party with some friends. If I do miss it, I will make sure to catch it by the time the story is finished. I have a long weekend from school this weekend (Labor Day), and I have been working almost non-stop all weekend, so I'm going to honestly predict that I'm going to be finished with the whole thing in, like, two days, which will (ironically enough) fall on Labor Day. So, basically, expect a chapter on Monday. If it doesn't come, that obviously means I haven't finished yet, but it will be very, very, VERY soon, so look out for that.**

**Anyway, that does it for this rather long author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	13. Temptations

Chapter Twelve: Temptations

The Doctor panted in exhaustion as his body began to heal itself using a mixture of his latent Gallifreyan regeneration energy and the Force. His bones were soon healed of any cracks or fractures he may have suffered at the War Doctor's hands, and he began to rapidly heal his bruised organs.

"You have conquered your unknown," said the serene woman, who had appeared before him. "Now, you must face your temptations."

Breathing heavily, the Doctor nodded, ready now for anything that they might throw at him.

The serene woman led him to a cave at the top of some steps. She and the Doctor had not spoken since she had ordered him to face his temptations, but the Doctor did feel the need to say something to her as they reached the cave.

"The War Doctor was powerful," he commented.

"What you faced was a product of choice," said the serene woman. "You chose not to fight in your Time War, and for that, we commend you and your eighth face. But had your eighth self chosen to fight, the War Doctor is what you would have become. You would have been unworthy of our Great Gift, and you would have died alone and broken." The Doctor shuddered, thinking about what it would be like to be completely alone for that long. He would probably have gone insane.

"But I didn't fight," said the Doctor. "It would have been too personal for me."

"And that is why he remained as your unknown, the alternative to a choice you made almost two centuries ago," said the serene woman. "The alternative, however, was so powerful that he remained locked within you as a shadow of your soul."

"And here I thought I was totally clean," said the Doctor solemnly. "Guess you learn something new every day."

"He is you, and you are him," said the serene woman. "To deny the existence of that alternative would simply give it more power in your mind."

"Yes, now I see," said the Doctor. "The answer was simple. I had power over him because he never existed. He's simply a product born out of a choice, like you said."

The serene woman was quiet for a moment, as if thinking or calling out to her cousins in a voice the Doctor could not perceive. It was evidently the latter because when the serene woman turned around, her cousins appeared all around her.

"When you came to us, you thought we had nothing to teach you," she said. "You must trust in our teachings if you wish to succeed."

The Doctor nodded, ready for what was thrown his way next. He trusted them enough to know that they would be able to teach him, even though he had thought he knew everything about the Force.

"You will go into the Valley of Extinction," said the serene woman, pointing to the cave. "Pass through it without emotion, without attachment. You will see all our faces there. They will seduce you." At that moment, the five began circling around the Doctor and naming themselves as they swooped in and got right in his face before teleporting away.

"We are confusion."

"Anger."

"Sadness."

"Joy."

"And Serenity."

The Doctor saw Serenity turn into her ball of light and fly off into the cave which led to the Valley of Extinction. He followed her, careful not to portray emotion or attachment. It was difficult, as he kept thinking about his good friends back at the Jedi Temple, but he kept on going, betraying nothing. He had gotten maybe a hundred meters into the cave when he heard a man's voice.

"Stop! STOP!" he shouted, panicking over something or someone. Orange light hit the Doctor's eyes, and he soon found himself back in the Jedi Temple. But this was not the Jedi Temple he knew. He could feel it in his bones. Something was wrong here.

"NO!" shouted the voice again. The Doctor turned around, looking down one section of the hall he was in, but nobody was there. He looked the other way, and he was horrified at what he saw.

There were bodies all over that section of the hallway.

The Doctor ran over to one of the whose backs were turned to him. He rolled the body to see who it was. He was greeted with a bald, dark-skinned face that he recognized instantly as Master Mace Windu.

"No," said the Doctor, willing himself to unsee what he just witnessed. Tears of sadness began to well up at the sight of his good friend in such a state. He ran over to another body, and it was that of a young Padawan, a boy of no more than eleven years. To see a child dead, cut down before his time, horrified the Doctor and made him feel great anger. He would find out who did this.

The Doctor heard coughing, and he inclined his head to see Master Coleman Kcaj, one of his friends on the Jedi Council. The Ongree Master was still alive, but only just. Perhaps he could tell him what had happened here, the Doctor thought.

"Doctor," said Coleman weakly. "Doctor."

"I'm here, Master Kcaj," said the Doctor. "What happened? Who did this?" Coleman coughed quite violently before answering.

"The Sith," he managed. "They came in the night and surprised us. Doctor, I'm dying."

"I'll get you some help," promised the Doctor. "I can heal you."

"It's too late, Doctor," said Coleman. "Too late for me."

"Don't say that, Coleman!" shouted the Doctor. "I can help you!"

"Doctor," said Coleman, already fading. "My Padawan. Please...protect her." Coleman's eyes shut, and his body went limp.

"Master Kcaj!" the Doctor tried to revive him. "Master Kcaj! COLEMAN!" But it was too late. They were dead. They were all dead. But how? How could they all have died right under his nose? The thought confused him, and he held his head in his hands.

"No!" he shouted. "I've failed them. I've failed them all!" Anger, confusion, and sadness reigned supreme in the Doctor. He gripped his head tightly, wanting so badly for the vision to end.

"Doctor," came a voice. The Doctor looked up, and saw Jedi Master Roranicus Pond, the former Master of Stass Allie, sitting atop one of the columns jutting out from the Temple walls. He jumped down gracefully and put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"Let me take you away from all this," said Roranicus. "This confusion, this anger, this sadness. You don't need this. Come with me, and you will never have need for such pains." With that, he started to walk off, but the Doctor didn't follow. Turning around, Roranicus called back to the Doctor.

"Are you coming, Doctor?" he asked, outstretching a hand for the Doctor to take. The Doctor shook himself out of his confusion and jogged to catch up with Roranicus, taking his hand.

Instantly, he was transported to the Temple Gardens. He looked out and saw that the previously-orange sky had turned a clear and bright blue. The trees were tall and lovely, and the stench of death no longer filled the Doctor's nostrils.

"The Temple is beautiful, isn't it, Doctor?" said Roranicus from behind him. The Jedi Master motioned to other Jedi who were standing in the Gardens with him and the Doctor. They were all chatting and smiling, as if nothing bad were happening to them. The Doctor could feel the serenity of this place oozing into him. It was beautiful, just as Roranicus said.

He heard children laughing and playing. He saw Jedi Masters who were long dead talking to each other. Adi Gallia was speaking to Kit Fisto animatedly about some adventure she had had long ago, to which the Nautolan laughed, wearing his signature smile. Stass Allie told a joke to Shaak Ti and Anakin Skywalker, and the two Jedi laughed when she had reached the punchline. The Doctor even caught a glimpse of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi standing together talking with an elder Jedi Master whose face the Doctor could not see.

"Yes," mused the Doctor with a smile. "So peaceful, like it should be. This is how it was before the war."

"War, Doctor?" asked Roranicus, who seemed genuinely confused. "There's no war here, only peace and serenity."

"No war?" the Doctor asked. Roranicus nodded, smiling, then walked off to speak with Plo Koon and Saesee Tiin, who waved at him and the Doctor. The Doctor waved to his friends, overjoyed that they were here. He walked over to Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, wanting to meet the elder Jedi to whom they were speaking. Obi-Wan saw him walk over and smiled.

"Ah, Doctor," he said. "Master Dooku was telling us a tale of when he was your Padawan. Really quite a humorous story." The elder Jedi Master turned, revealing the face of Count Dooku. The Doctor reeled back in surprise.

"Count Dooku," he said, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"Yes, Master," said Dooku. "Although I do not go by the title of Count very often anymore. I was just telling them the tale of the time when you faced the giant terentatek of Kashyyyk. What a beast that was indeed." The smile on Dooku's face was one of joy, not maleficence, and the Doctor was surprised by how long it had been since he had seen that. He did remember that terentatek. His ninth self had gone down into the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk to fight one and gain the trust and admiration of the Wookiees there. He succeeded, and the Wookiees praised the outsider Doctor for his skill and bravery. It was one of the finest moments of his ninth self, and he carried that memory fondly.

"Yes," said the Doctor, beginning to smile. "I remember that terrible beast. To be honest, I was a bit of a timorous beastie myself facing that thing."

Dooku, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon all laughed at the Doctor's self-deprecating jab.

"We had such wonderful adventures, the Doctor and I," said Dooku.

"I'm sure we'd all love to hear more, but I think it's time to join the others," suggested Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan and Dooku agreed, and they began to walk off towards the center tree of the Temple Gardens. The Doctor watched them go off and join the other Jedi who were gathered there. He could see Kit Fisto, Adi Gallia, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Eeth Koth, Roranicus Pond, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Mace, Anakin, Shaak Ti, Stass, and another score of Jedi, all waiting for him.

"Coming, Doctor?" asked Dooku. The Doctor started towards Dooku and the others, but he stopped himself just before getting to the stairs leading to the tree. He could feel joy and serenity here. Back in the ruined Temple, he felt confusion, anger, and sadness. Serenity had said that he would see all of their faces in the Valley of Extinction. This was a test. A trick to seduce him off the path to the Great Gift. It wouldn't work. Not on the Doctor.

"No," he said forcefully. "This is wrong. What I see before me is a lie." The score of Jedi, whose faces were so serene mere moments ago had now turned to glare at him.

"Master Gallia, I know you to be dead," said the Doctor, pointing to the Tholothian Master. "I watched you die on Florrum. Master Qui-Gon, I watched you die, too, on Naboo. Obi-Wan was with me. And you, my former apprentice, are a traitor and a Sith Lord." At the Doctor's accusation, Dooku turned to the Doctor, revealing deep, blood-red eyes that reminded the Doctor of his Dark Side's lightsaber. The skies grew dark and the other Jedi faded away, leaving only Dooku and the Doctor, alone with the black night sky. Dooku activated his red lightsaber and raised it, threatening the Doctor with death.

"This is an illusion," said the Doctor. "You can't harm me." Dooku jumped up to attack, and the Doctor's world went white just as Dooku's red blade was about to impact with the Doctor.

* * *

The Doctor awoke on a beach, standing perfectly straight up as he had been in the Temple Gardens. He saw a ball of light floating toward him and heard the voice of Serenity.

"You have done well," she commended. "To succeed, you must continue learning and practicing, all through your remaining lives."

"Very well," said the Doctor. "But I must know something. Who are you? Show me your face."

Serenity acknowledged and removed her mask. There was light masking her face for a moment, then it was gone, revealing nothing but an empty cloak.

The Doctor was shocked when the cloak fell to the ground in a heap.

"And now you see," came the voice of Serenity. "We have achieved what you seek. We exist between the realm of life and the realm of death."

"You're dead?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes," responded Serenity.

"You're the Whills Master Qui-Gon spoke of?" asked the Doctor.

"We are," said Serenity. "I remember young Qui-Gon. It was he who led you here, was it not?"

"Yes," said the Doctor. "His spirit told me to come here to learn."

"And have you done so?" asked Serenity.

"I think so, yeah," said the Doctor. "How shall I complete my training?"

Serenity's four cousins, Anger, Confusion, Sadness, and Joy, appeared before him then and told the Doctor what he needed to do.

"You must face the ultimate test," said Confusion.

"The ultimate seduction," said Anger.

"The gravest of journeys," said Sadness.

"You will travel to Korriban," said Joy.

"I understand," said the Doctor.

"Journey through the homeworld of the ancient Sith," ordered Anger. "Face all that you fear and all that haunts your soul!" The four then disappeared in a similar fashion to Serenity, leaving their cloaks and masks behind as they left. Anger's voice echoed in the Doctor's ears as he distinctly heard the sound of engines. His Eta-2 starfighter rose up, its engines activated on their own. The Doctor got in and met up with R2-D2, who had been waiting patiently this whole time for him to return. He seemed happy that the Doctor had returned at last, as it meant that they were finally getting off this strange planet.

The astromech beeped at him, wondering if they could go back to Coruscant yet.

"No, not yet, R2," said the Doctor. "We still have one more place left to go."

R2 whistled, asking the Doctor where he had been this whole time.

"I went to a strange little planet," said the Doctor. "But I'm not finished yet. Set course for Korriban."

R2 then beeped that they should be brave when on that planet.

"Agreed," said the Doctor. "The worst is indeed yet to come."

The starfighter journeyed to Korriban, and when they arrived, R2 whistled low in slight fear.

"We've got to be very careful, R2," said the Doctor. "This planet has seen many wars."

The ship descended onto Korriban's surface, in the Valley of the Dark Lords, where ancient Sith Lords were buried and forgotten for millennia. The Doctor and R2 exited the fighter after it landed, and they were immediately surrounded by dust brought up by the winds of Korriban. R2 beeped at the Doctor, asking him if they should go together.

"No, R2," said the Doctor. "I need you to stay with the ship. I must go alone. If I don't return in three days, go back to Coruscant, and tell them where I went." R2 gave the Doctor his lightsabers, and the Gallifreyan journeyed to wherever it was he was supposed to go.

He reached out with the Force, asking it where he should go, and he let the Force guide him. Through howling winds and orange skies that reminded him of Gallifrey, the Doctor journeyed across Korriban. He thought that this might have been what it was like for the Gallifreyans in the last days of the Time War. If so, then it was indeed a pitiful existence they had led in those final hours before their planet tore itself apart.

The Doctor had, at last, found the place where he should go. He knew that this was the place, for the Force had marked this building in his vision like a beacon in the night. The Doctor decided to rest up for a few hours and give himself some strength before journeying into the building, which he assumed was a tomb of some sort. He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to sleep-meditate.

Several hours went by, and night had now fallen on Korriban. The Doctor was awoken by a hissing sound, and he found that black snakes were slithering past him and burrowing themselves in a point on the ground in front of him. From that point sprouted a much larger snake with gleaming red eyes, similar to the ones he had seen on Dooku in his vision of the Temple Gardens.

"We are the Sith," it said menacingly.

"Really," said the Doctor. "You don't scare me too much."

"We shall see." The snake charged at him, but the Doctor used the Force to defend himself, scattering the smaller snakes used to make up the larger one. After the snake had vanished, a dozen Sith spirits sprouted up all around the Doctor, surrounding him and staring at him.

The Doctor stood to face the Sith spirits as they began to swirl around him as the Whills had on the mysterious planet. They spoke to him low, almost a whisper in the back of his head, obviously trying to frighten him. Dun Möch. It hadn't worked before. It wouldn't now.

"There is no life after death, Jedi," they said as one. "Nothingness awaits you. Your fear feeds our hunger. We crave power."

"You will never obtain it," said the Doctor.

"Maybe so," said the Sith spirits. "But they will. And they will know you are here. We will tell them. You will die and be nothing."

The Sith spirits, one by one, rushed headlong into the Doctor's body and disappeared on contact. The Doctor didn't quite know who "they" were, but he imagined that the Sith spirits were referring to the current Sith Lords, Count Dooku and Darth Sidious, whose existence was now believed to be true by the Doctor.

Ignoring their comments and moving forward, the Doctor came up to the tomb, its massive door already open, as if expecting him. It was dark in the dusty old thing, so the Doctor activated his main saber, using it as a light to guide him through the dark. He navigated his way through the long hallway of the tomb before reaching the actual casket. It was illuminated by a hole in the ceiling, and behind it stood a massive statue of the Sith Lord called Darth Bane. So, this was where the Force had guided him, the Doctor noted. The progenitor of the Rule of Two.

The Doctor deactivated his main saber and made his way toward Darth Bane's casket. When he reached the ancient Sith's casket, black smoke started to drift out of it. From the center of the casket rose a flaming specter resembling the statue behind it. It was Darth Bane. It had to be.

"Why do you come to my tomb, Gallifreyan?" asked Darth Bane.

"I come to learn," said the Doctor.

"Foolish Jedi," said Darth Bane. "Do you know who I am?"

"You are Darth Bane," answered the Doctor. "Creator of the Rule of Two."

"For this, I am not forgotten," said Darth Bane as he circled the Doctor. "The Sith killed each other, victims of their own greed. From the ashes of destruction, I was the last survivor. I chose to pass my knowledge down to only one. My legacy is so resilient that now you come to me to learn." Darth Bane laughed mirthlessly before adding, "Have you come to be my apprentice? You must kill me to take my place."

"You're dead already, Bane," said the Doctor. At this, Bane laughed.

"Then what stands before you?" he challenged.

"An illusion, a falsehood," countered the Doctor, bravery shining through.

"You do not fear me?" asked Darth Bane, surprised to say the least.

"Not in the slightest," said the smirking Doctor. "You don't exist." He walked past the specter, and it began to be sucked, shouting, back into the casket. The casket moved away, revealing a hidden passageway underneath. The Doctor was about to cross the threshold when he heard a voice calling his name. When he realized that the voice was coming from the hidden passageway, he took it and followed it down into a humongous hallway. This hallway was slightly illuminated by artificial lights, but it was still quite dark in the tomb. The Doctor didn't need his lightsabers to create more light for him to follow, but it definitely would have helped.

The hallway eventually spilled out into a bridge leading to another room, and the room felt dark and purely evil to the Doctor. It was on the bridge that the Doctor saw five familiar balls of light floating down towards him. The Doctor smiled for a moment, recognizing the lights as he walked towards them. The balls of light formed into the Whills known as Serenity, Anger, Joy, Sadness, and Confusion, who all floated down to meet the Doctor one last time before his final test.

"I must give you a warning," said Serenity. "All your trials have been under our control. And you have done well on all of them. But inside that room is a place where we have no control whatsoever." She pointed to the room ahead of them. "That place is one of absolute darkness."

"Why?" asked the Doctor. "What happened there?"

"In that room, ancient Sith used to sacrifice Jedi," answered Serenity. The Doctor's stomach turned, and he felt as though he would be sick.

"The Sith of your time will find you there," continued Serenity. "And you will find them." The Doctor's eyes widened for a brief moment. The Sith spirits had been right. The Sith of his time knew that he was here. Perhaps he could finally meet Darth Sidious and unmask him once and for all.

"Be wary, Doctor," cautioned Serenity. "For what they may offer may seem like an answer."

The five Whills disappeared, and the Doctor walked cautiously into the room of darkness, feeling its gaping maw closing around him the moment he crossed the door's threshold.

The stairs adjoining the door led to a large room that looked just like a sacrificial chamber. There, the Doctor found someone chained to four posts at the end of the room. The man was dirty and weakened by the chains, but he was still alive.

"Help me," he whispered, just loud enough that the Doctor could hear and recognize his voice instantly. "Please, Doctor, help me."

"Sifo-Dyas," said the Doctor, shocked beyond reason that the Jedi Master was alive after all these years. "You're still alive!"

"Help me, Doctor," said Sifo-Dyas. "I have been imprisoned here for so long."

"Who did this to you?" asked the Doctor.

"The Sith Lord Darth Sidious," answered Sifo-Dyas, whose eyes had gone pale yellow, similar to the common eye color of the Sith. "What if I could tell you who he is?"

"That would be great, thanks," said the Doctor, making no motion to free Sifo-Dyas. The yellow eyes had tipped him off to something. This man was not Sifo-Dyas.

"Free me, Doctor," said Sifo-Dyas. "And I will tell you."

"Nope, I think I'm good right here," said the Doctor. "You're more than welcome to tell me from where you are, though."

"He can give you the answers you seek, Doctor, and much more," tempted Sifo-Dyas.

"The Sith are enthralled by the physical realm," said the Doctor.

"What else is there?" asked Sifo-Dyas. That confirmed the suspicion the Doctor had. Sifo-Dyas, being a Jedi, would never have said that. Only a Sith would have. "Free me, and together we can know who Sidious really is, gain the power you deserve, and save the future."

"Nope," declined the Doctor, popping the "p."

"Free me!" shouted Sifo-Dyas.

"No," said the Doctor. "You are not Sifo-Dyas. You are a Sith in disguise. You have nothing to show me."

"We shall see," said Sifo-Dyas. A circle of blue flame surrounded the Doctor. The Doctor took a step back and observed the circle with trepidation. What did the Sith have planned for him now?

Sifo-Dyas had turned into a man in a thick cloak with a hood covering his eyes and much of the rest of his face. Only his mouth was visible, and from it came an evil and unforgiving laugh. This man could only be one person. The Doctor recognized him from the vision on Dagobah. The most evil man in the galaxy.

"Sidious," said the Doctor. The Sith Lord laughed again as the Doctor's mind became dizzy. He tried to fight it, but it was no use. He was already slipping into unconsciousness.

The Doctor awoke on a Republic gunship. He was surrounded by clones, including his own ARC trooper, Captain Fordo, and Anakin Skywalker.

"There's no question, sir," said Anakin's clone officer, Captain Rex. "The ship was carrying Count Dooku."

"We've scanned the area," said Fordo. "He's meeting with someone inside the building."

"Thanks, Captains," said Anakin. "Orders, Doctor?"

"What?" asked the Doctor, confused as to where he was.

"Are you okay, Doctor?" asked Anakin.

"Where am I?" asked the Doctor.

"I don't understand," said Anakin.

"Tell me, please."

"We're in the industrial sector on Coruscant."

"What's going on?"

"A rogue shuttle slipped through our security grid," answered Captain Fordo. "We suspect that Dooku was on board."

"And?" asked the Doctor.

"Doctor, this is your mission," said Anakin. "Your call. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I apologize, Anakin," said the Doctor. "The Dark Side has clouded me. Tell me who is inside."

"We intercepted a message calling Dooku to Coruscant," explained Anakin. "We believe he is meeting with his master, the Sith Lord we've been looking for."

"Sidious, yes," said the Doctor. "I can feel their power."

"What are your orders, Doctor?" asked Anakin.

"Capture them," said the Doctor. "Under no circumstances are you to kill Sidious. The time has come to find out his true identity."

"What if they escape?" asked Anakin.

"They won't," said the Doctor as the gunship doors opened, revealing the industrial district of Coruscant. "We'll make sure of it."

The gunship entered the building where the rogue shuttle had gone, according to Republic intelligence, and the Doctor and Anakin followed their clones off the gunship.

"Move in," the Doctor ordered. They did so, Captains Fordo and Rex taking the lead.

"I have two enemies on scanner," said Captain Fordo. "Be ready for additional unfriendlies."

The Doctor and Anakin then took the lead from the two captains, moving forward ahead of them and facing the Sith Lords. Sidious and Dooku regarded them for a moment.

"It appears we have company," said Sidious. "Dispose of them."

Dooku activated his Sith lightsaber, preparing himself to take on the clones and the Jedi.

"Take them!" ordered Anakin, activating his own lightsaber. The Doctor watched as Anakin and the clones, minus Captain Fordo, moved up to engage Dooku, blasting at him with all they had. Dooku's Makashi was too powerful for their blasts, and they were easily deflected. Lightning from Dooku's hand shot out at the clones, incapacitating them instantly, but not killing them. They were blasted backwards, out of the fight for now. The Doctor could sense their breathing. They were still alive for now. Captain Fordo remained resolute beside the Doctor, unaffected by Dooku's Sith Lightning.

Anakin jumped up and engaged Dooku, leaving Fordo and the Doctor alone with Sidious.

"Stay here, Captain," said the Doctor. "You're no match for a Sith Lord."

"Yes, sir," said Fordo, having acknowledged that the Doctor was right. The Doctor stepped forward, looking Darth Sidious square in the face. The Sith Lord was gleefully watching Anakin and Dooku duel, taking considerable pleasure from it.

"So, we meet at last," said the Doctor. "Hello, Darth Sidious. I'm the Doctor."

"Fool," said Sidious as he turned to face the Doctor. "You cannot stop what is to come." Darth Sidious started backing away, then broke into a run. The Doctor gave chase, but stopped when he sensed much anger emanating from Anakin Skywalker. The Doctor saw Anakin overpower Dooku, slashing at the Sith Lord's leg and disarming him. Dooku's curved lightsaber flew into the air, and Anakin caught it and activated it. He held both Dooku's lightsaber and his own at the Count's neck in a deadly scissor formation. The Doctor realized what he was about to do.

"Anakin, no!" he shouted, but it was too late. Anakin had already cut with the scissors, beheading Count Dooku. The Count's headless body flopped uselessly to the floor. The Doctor sighed for a moment, acknowledging Dooku's death, then returned to chasing Sidious. The Doctor followed Sidious to a small series of bridges connecting the building they were just in to the next one. Sidious turned, knowing that he would have to face the Doctor. From his sleeve, he called a lightsaber. He activated it, and it made the most sickening humming sound the Doctor had ever heard. Sidious held the tip of his blade to the Doctor. The Doctor activated his own lightsabers, then charged.

One thing was to be said about Sidious. He was a masterful duelist. The Doctor noticed that he kept switching between forms, accommodating for the Doctor's Ataru-Djem So mix at every whirl of his blade. His defense was perfect. He was absolutely flawless with his forms. Sidious switched from Juyo to Ataru to Shii-Cho, then back to Ataru, then Djem So. The Doctor had trouble keeping up, but his second lightsaber provided a numbers advantage, which he would definitely exploit.

The Doctor's acrobatics were at their peak when fighting Sidious. The only other person the Doctor had ever fought who was comparable to the Sith Lord was Mace Windu. Other than Mace and the Doctor, Sidious had no equal in lightsaber combat.

The two saber masters continued to duel relentlessly. Sidious seemed to be enjoying himself while fighting the Doctor.

"Having fun, are we?" said the Doctor, who wasn't even tired yet.

"Doctor, you have no idea," said Sidious, who went to sweep the Doctor's legs with his blade. The Doctor countered by jumping onto a pillar, striking, then coming back down and striking again. The duel was fierce, and the Doctor concentrated all his efforts on disarming Sidious. If he could do that, then Sidious would be at his mercy, and he could finally find out who he really was. If the Doctor had to kill him to do it, that was fine, but he would much rather take Sidious alive.

Sidious's swordplay was rapid and aggressive now. He had switched to Juyo again. The Doctor countered by flipping over Sidious, then flipping back, hoping to break his defense. Unfortunately, it didn't work, but the Doctor did not despair. He had heard the activation of another lightsaber. The Gallifreyan turned to see that Anakin Skywalker had come to provide backup. Sidious reeled at the challenge of taking on two very powerful Jedi at once, and he attacked.

The Doctor flipped over Sidious to give Anakin some room to fight him, and they duelled only very briefly together. The Doctor had found that Sidious was focusing more of his efforts on Anakin rather than the Doctor himself. The Gallifreyan used the Sith Lord's distraction to pick him up and throw him across the bridge. Sidious's lightsaber deactivated, and Anakin charged after him. The Doctor realized that Sidious was feigning being truly hurt, and that Anakin was rushing into a trap.

"Wait!" he cried. Too late again. Sidious began to strangle Anakin. He then electrocuted the Jedi Knight with Lightning more powerful than any the Doctor had ever seen. He dropped Anakin to the ground, then shot Sith Lightning at the Doctor.

The Doctor used his Force Absorb power, but it almost wasn't enough. Sidious's Lightning was powerful, and it gave the Doctor a bit of trouble to hold it back. But he was determined, and he held his ground.

Sidious and the Doctor were now each in front of one of the railings on the bridge. The Doctor heard a ringing sound growing louder in his ears and realized that the Force Lock they had created was growing too dense. In a ring of blue light, the Force Lock exploded, sending the Doctor into the railing and Sidious over it. The Doctor quickly recovered and looked out over the edge. Sidious was nowhere to be found. The Doctor figured the Sith Lord had simply fallen to his death, and he sighed in disappointment. He had defeated Sidious, but unfortunately failed to find out his identity.

The Doctor didn't need to be disappointed for long. A red lightsaber blade stabbed through the thin metal grating on the bridge and cut it apart. He heard Sidious's maniacal laughter and jumped into action. Activating his lightsabers, he jumped to Sidious, who was on another, more temporarily stable part of the bridge, but then remembered that Anakin was still on the collapsing part. Quickly, he deactivated his shoto and grabbed Anakin with the Force and move him to safety.

"Can you save him, Jedi?" called Sidious. The Sith Lord fired a short burst of lightning at the Doctor, who absorbed it with his main saber while holding Anakin up as the bridge under him collapsed and fell into the abyss of Coruscant. Sidious fired more lightning, but the Doctor absorbed it again. Frustrated, Sidious tried again as the bridge part they were standing on now began to collapse as well. He simply could not break the Doctor's resolve, so he tried a different tactic.

"Why not let him go?" he said. "Why not let him die? You can stop all that I will do."

"No!" said the Doctor as the bridge threatened to give out again. "The future is not yours! Not yet!" The Doctor knew that this was another offer that felt like an answer, as Serenity had said, but wasn't. "I will not be tempted!" The Doctor deactivated his lightsaber and held Anakin with both hands, sending him even faster to safety.

"Then you will die!" shouted Sidious. The Doctor felt the nearly unbearable sting of lightning scorching him as Sidious cackled behind him. He couldn't give up yet. He had to get Anakin to the safety of the next bridge over. He concentrated not on the pain, but on Anakin. The Doctor didn't care how much it hurt; he had to make sure that his friend was safe.

At last, Anakin reached the other bridge, and just in time, too. Sidious and the Doctor's bridge was threatening once more to give out, this time being held up by a single connection. The Doctor realized that he could cut the connection and send them both plummeting to their dooms. At the worst, at least for the Doctor, he would regenerate. Sidious would be dead, but his next incarnation could find out who Sidious was.

Noting the soundness of the plan, the Doctor took his shoto and kissed the hilt goodbye. Activating it, he threw it at the top of the bridge. The blade hit its mark, and Sidious and the Doctor were soon plummeting into the depths of Coruscant. Laughing, Sidious tried to keep the Doctor's hands away from his hood. But he couldn't. At last, the Doctor could know who Sidious was. The Dark Lord lowered his head, and the laughing grew a bit more distant as the Doctor lifted up the hood...

...and was greeted with an empty cloak.

The Doctor was slightly shocked. He had failed. He had failed to find out who Sidious was, and now it would cost him a regeneration.

He closed his eyes and awaited the impact of the ground.

* * *

No impact came for the Doctor. Instead, his world had gone black, and he heard a voice call out to him again.

"Doctor," it said. "Doctor."

He awoke, and found Serenity hovering over him.

"Have I regenerated?" he asked as he stood, then held his throat. His voice didn't sound any different. He hadn't regenerated at all. He was still the same old Doctor.

"In a way," said Serenity. "You have not performed the literal act of regeneration, however. You are still wearing your tenth face."

"Okay," said the Doctor, keeping his face neutral, although, on the inside, he was rejoicing. He didn't like regeneration in this body as his other selves had. He knew he would eventually face it in this body, but he wanted to put it off for as long as he could. He liked this face. He didn't want to give it up anytime soon.

"Now does my training begin?" asked the Doctor.

"Qui-Gon Jinn will commune with you," said Serenity. "He will guide your training. Like him and us, you shall learn to maintain consciousness after death."

"Will this work for regeneration?" asked the Doctor. "Could I commune with my other bodies and this one after I regenerate?"

"I do not know," said Serenity. "You are a special case. I imagine that you could commune with your past selves as well, but I am unsure."

"I'll try to find out, then," said the Doctor.

"Indeed," said Serenity. "Enlightenment, peace, and balance. Achieve these, and you will conquer death. _Vale Decem..._" With that, Serenity disappeared, leaving the Doctor alone.

He walked back to his ship in solitude. Nothing on Korriban seeked to bother him anymore. He had worn out his welcome, and it was time to go. He thought about those last two words that Serenity had spoken to him. _Vale Decem_. It was Gallifreyan, and it meant "Farewell Ten" or "Goodbye Ten," depending on what translation was being used. The Doctor wondered if Serenity had uttered that phrase as a form of customary goodbye or as something else entirely. He didn't know for sure, and he didn't want to find that out anytime soon.

The Doctor found his ship and R2, who was patiently waiting for him. R2 beeped excitedly, wondering if it was time to go home.

"Yep," said the Doctor. "Time to go back."

And so the starfighter left Korriban to return home to Coruscant.

* * *

After landing back on Coruscant, the Doctor spent much of his time in the Temple Gardens, reflecting on what he had seen and accomplished. Always, those two words seemed to haunt him. _Vale Decem_. He still didn't know the meaning, but a gut feeling told him that he would hear those same words when he regenerated, and he would understand their true meaning then.

"The Council has assembled," said Mace Windu, who had come out to the Gardens with Obi-Wan to report it to the Doctor. "They're anxious to hear your report." The Doctor thought for a moment longer before responding.

"I think they might be a bit disappointed. Nothing important happened," he lied.

"So, nothing significant happened to you out there?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Yes and no," said the Doctor.

"Did you obtain any insight on how to win this war?" asked Mace. The Doctor thought of the War Doctor, the thing he might have become had he fought in the Time War, and shuddered, a motion incomprehensible to either Jedi Master standing before him.

"I don't think anyone truly wins a war, Macey boy," said the Doctor. "When we fight, we shed blood, and we lose already. But there's a path that remains open to us, but is unknown by the Sith. We may yet find victory through this path. Not victory in the Clone Wars, but victory for all of time."

"I understand, Doctor," said Obi-Wan, smiling at the Doctor's words of wisdom. The Doctor regarded the Jedi Master for a moment. Perhaps he was the one whom Qui-Gon spoke of when he asked the Doctor if there were any Jedi deserving of the Gift before the Clone Wars. The Doctor didn't say anything about that, but he did give them some other news.

"In the meantime," he said, "I did find out something about the Sith. Darth Sidious does exist." Mace and Obi-Wan shared looks of slight fear as the Doctor continued.

"I suggest that we investigate and find out his whereabouts," he said.

"I will gather a team and begin immediately, Doctor," said Mace.

"Thank you, Master Windu," said the Doctor.

With that, the Doctor walked off with hope. Hope that Mace would find the Sith Lord and bring him to justice. Hope that he could learn how to be immortal. Hope that he could teach it to Obi-Wan. Hope that, one day, they could teach Jedi for generations to come.

And that was something to look forward to.

* * *

**Well, guys, it's Monday, and I'm posting a chapter. You know what that means! That's right! I finished Star Wars (Starring the Doctor)! As of about two-and-a-half hours ago, SW(SD) is completely finished! This is super exciting! I'd say all the stuff I want to say about how writing it was awesome and whatnot, but I'll save that for the Return of the Jedi epilogue, which I wrote this morning, by the way.**

**Unfortunately, I can't talk about the new Doctor Who episode, "Into the Dalek," because I haven't seen it yet. I thought it would be on Xfinity On Demand, but the only episodes on there were Series 7 and "Deep Breath." That being said, I'll talk about it a little in the next chapter, so don't worry about that.**

**On a brighter note, I just watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and it was awesome.**

**Anyway, what did you guys think of the chapter? Let me know in a review! It's a bit long, I know, but none of the remaining chapters in any of the volumes are as long as the ones in TCW. After this one, it's back to my usual length of chapters, anywhere from five to ten pages long.**

**Well, guys, I think that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	14. Coruscant Siege

Chapter Thirteen: Coruscant Siege

The cyborg who was called Grievous was training. He was fighting against his trainer and Master, who was known as Count Dooku to much of the galaxy. Grievous, of course, knew him as the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, although he almost never openly referred to him as such, except in these training environments. He was using simple attacks against Tyranus, a warm-up round before the Sith Lord told him to get more aggressive. He was using the lightsabers of the Whipid K'Kruhk and the Eirrauc Puroth. They were personal favorites of his, as they had come from Jedi Masters. Of course, he planned to replace them as his favorites once he obtained the lightsabers of Kenobi and Skywalker. But the trophies he coveted most were the lightsabers of the Doctor.

He had nearly gotten them on Hypori. If those blasted clones hadn't interfered, he would be using the Doctor's lightsabers against Tyranus right now. He had never gotten another chance to kill the Doctor, but he would be ready when he did. His training with Tyranus would help him along the way.

"Stop using the standard attacks!" called Tyranus. "Use the unorthodox!"

If he wanted the unorthodox, he would get the unorthodox.

Grievous launched into a frenzy of attacks, making use of his hands and feet in order to get the upper hand. Tyranus was powerful, and Grievous had never beaten him in a fight, but he would today. Tyranus's constant commands were getting a bit frustrating, so he attacked more relentlessly than ever.

"How often must I tell you?" condescended Tyranus. "Control my central line!"

Grievous did so, and while he didn't actually succeed in disarming Tyranus, the Sith Lord congratulated him nonetheless. Grievous pressed the attack, or tried to until Tyranus pushed his foot out from under him. Frustrated once more, Grievous jumped up and began relentlessly attacking Tyranus, a small, insignificant part of him wanting to kill the Sith Lord right there.

"Destroy my focus, General!" Tyranus called as he flipped around one of Grievous's strikes.

_I'm trying, but you're too damn fast_, thought Grievous as he continued to press the attack.

"You're holding the saber too tight!" said Tyranus. As soon as Grievous slackened his grip around Puroth's saber, Tyranus disarmed him of that saber and caught it in his free hand.

"You gave it too much slack, General," said Tyranus regarding one of the lightsabers on his belt. He had recently acquired that one from a Jedi who used to be called Adric. "Is that a new one?"

"Yes, Lord Tyranus," said Grievous. "The young Jedi from whom I acquired this saber foolishly attempted to ambush me, but failed. Your training served me well then, and it serves me well now. It has awarded me many trophies."

"Don't focus on your acquisition of trophies, General," said Tyranus. "It clouds your reality."

"I understand," said Grievous.

"Remember what I taught you," instructed Tyranus. "If you are to succeed against the best of the Jedi Order, you must intimidate and surprise them. Your intimidation will cause fear to sprout in their hearts. Your surprise will catch them off-guard, making them easier targets."

Grievous was frustrated again. Tyranus was telling him things he already knew. It was not as though Jedi were easily intimidated. Even some of the Padawans would fight him. They would die, but they were still brave enough-or stupid enough-to engage him in combat.

"If you are lacking in either of those respects," continued Tyranus, "it would be best for you to retreat and fight another day. You must break the Jedi before engaging them. Only then will you gain victory and your trophies." Tyranus gave Grievous Puroth's lightsaber back just as a hologram of Tyranus's Master, Darth Sidious, appeared before them. Grievous knew not to trifle with this man. He only ever appeared in holograms, communicating from the shadows, but even still, his presence, regardless of whether or not it was holographic, commanded the room. For this, Grievous respected Sidious, even admired his ruthless resolve to destroy Jedi, which Grievous saw as a mirror of his own.

"That is wise advice, my apprentice," said the Sith Master. "Most wise indeed."

"Master," said Tyranus, bowing his head to Sidious.

"Report, General," barked Sidious. "What news from the front?"

"The strategy is working perfectly, my lord, just as you said it would," said Grievous. "So many Jedi Masters and Knights are stretched far across the Outer Rim. It is only a vain attempt to combat our new offensive."

"Good," said Sidious. "Well done, General."

"What are your new orders, Master?" asked Tyranus.

"Now is the time to strike," said Sidious. "Now is the time to begin our final operation. General, is everything ready for your special mission?"

The special mission to which Sidious referred was the most dangerous and most glorious mission Grievous had ever been on. He would capture Chancellor Palpatine right from Coruscant. Sidious wanted the Chancellor alive, although Grievous didn't really understand why. Still, Sidious had specifically wanted Palpatine alive, so that was what he would do. He might even get the chance to once more face the Doctor, who was reported to still be on the planet. Grievous reeled at the chance.

"Yes, Lord Sidious," Grievous answered. "The unsuspecting fools know not what awaits them."

This would be the Confederacy's finest hour, and it would bring about the end of the war.

* * *

The Clone Wars were drawing to a close. Everyone in the galaxy could feel it, especially the Doctor. Even Qui-Gon Jinn had said that he and the Whill Priestesses could feel the end coming in the afterlife. This war would soon end, and, hopefully, if Darth Sidious was found before his mysterious plans come to fruition, the lives of the Jedi could go back to some level of normalcy.

But nobody, not even the Doctor, had expected the Separatists to come to Coruscant in a direct strike.

The Doctor was sitting in his chambers, meditating on the afterlife, when the sound of droid starfighter engines ripped him out of his thoughts. He opened the shades to his chambers and found Trade Federation landing craft entering the atmosphere, along with hundreds upon hundreds of starfighters. He looked at the scene in a bit of shock,but he quickly got over it as Mace Windu entered his chambers.

"Coruscant is under attack!" he shouted.

"Sound the alarm!" ordered the Doctor. "We must defend the city!"

"Yes, Doctor!" said Mace. The Doctor and Mace ran through the Temple, alerting anyone and everyone to the attack. It had come so suddenly that Republic troops were scrambling to their fighters to counter the enemy attack. Jedi were scrambling around as well in an attempt to get out and command what little forces they could scrounge up.

The Doctor found Stass Allie and Shaak Ti running through the halls of the Temple to do just that, and he stopped them.

"Stass! Shaak Ti!" he called to them.

"Yes, Doctor?" said Stass as the two Jedi Masters turned towards their Grand Master.

"I have a feeling that this is no random attack," said the Doctor. "I fear that the Separatists have an agenda, and it involves Palpatine. I need you to form a team and keep him safe. Understood?"

"It will be done, Doctor," said Shaak Ti as she ran off to do her duty. Stass lingered for a moment, but only a moment.

"Be careful," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek that nobody saw but them.

"You, too," said the Doctor, wrapping her in a hug before letting her rejoin Shaak Ti in protecting the Chancellor.

Through the utter chaos, the Doctor could see landers all over the place, dropping off droids in the streets of Coruscant, killing citizens and clones who were all scrambling around to get to either fighters, ground positions, or safety.

The Doctor found Mace and Saesee Tiin in one of the Republic's hangar bays. The Doctor joined with Mace as he walked to his fighter, a purple Eta-2 that suited him in the Doctor's opinion. Saesee Tiin also ran to the Korun and the Gallifreyan to give them a report.

"Doctor, Master Windu!" he said. "Enemy fighters are continuously dropping out of hyperspace! Our forces are holding out for now, but they're going to need help soon."

"Get up there and take command, Master Tiin!" said Mace.

"Right away," said Saesee as he and Mace entered their fighters.

"Going in the air, Doctor?" asked Mace.

"No, Master Windu, I'm staying firmly on the ground for as long as I can," said the Doctor. "May the Force be with you both."

"And you, Doctor," said Saesee as the hatches to both fighters closed, and the Jedi Masters lifted off to fight their battles. The Doctor's battle, meanwhile, would take place on the ground. He activated his lightsabers and joined Captain Fordo in his scramble to get in on the action.

"Sir!" said Fordo. "The ARCs are awaiting your command, sir!"

"Get out there and defend against the droids as best you can, Captain!" ordered the Doctor. "That's all I ask of you today."

"Yes, sir," said Fordo. "It's a pretty big attack, sir. Do you think we can outlast them?"

"With you leading them, I have no doubts," said the Doctor, patting his comrade and friend on the shoulder. Underneath his helmet, the Doctor could sense a smile from Captain Fordo.

"Thank you, sir," he said as the Doctor ran off to fight in the ongoing battle.

Activating his lightsabers, the Doctor joined a contingent of clone troopers as they defended against the droids on a large courtyard that was near the Republic hangar. It was key to the survival of their reinforcements.

A legion of droidekas had come to destroy the hangar. The Doctor disdainfully deflected the incoming fire coming at him from the droidekas. He detested droidekas, and he had done so ever since his encounter with them on Rugosa. The clones were getting continually shot down by the massive amounts of blasterfire, and the Doctor seemed unable to stop them from doing so. Just then, he saw a wave of droid tri-fighters, and he got an idea. The Doctor ordered the clones to retreat for just a moment, then return in exactly sixty seconds to keep fighting.

"Sir, where are you going?" asked the clone commander.

"To take out some droids," said the Doctor as he went out to face the massive number of droids coming at him.

With one hand, he used the Force to lift every last droideka up from the ground, right into the paths of the tri-fighters. The Doctor watched as a hundred tri-fighters impacted with a hundred droidekas. He threw the droidekas out of sight as a Trade Federation lander began sending out a troop transport.

"Oh, no you don't!" shouted the Doctor. He pushed the troop transport back into the lander. He closed up the lander and started pushing that back into the path of another lander. He destabilized that craft and sent it slamming into the first lander, destroying them both in a huge, fiery explosion.

Two more landers tried coming into the Doctor's territory, but he wouldn't have that. He grabbed them with the Force and clapped his hands together, causing them to slam into each other and explode on contact, creating yet another fiery explosion.

The Doctor relaxed for a moment, but the clone commander came up to him with urgent news.

"Sir!" he called. "Alpha-77 is losing ground in Sector Four!" Captain Fordo must have been overrun by the massive number of droids the Separatists had probably deployed on his position.

"Stay here!" ordered the Doctor. "I'll go and help them!"

The Doctor employed Force Speed to get to Captain Fordo, having no means of safe transportation to help his friend out. He sped across the Coruscant landscape, cutting down any droids in his path. The Doctor arrived in Sector Four just in time for Fordo to give the order to retreat.

"No, no, no! Hold your positions!" he called as he ran headlong into the droids and started cutting them down. Captain Fordo rallied his men behind the Doctor, and together, they held back the droids.

Reinforcements to their position came in the form of Mace Windu riding the back of a droid starfighter. The Doctor watched as Mace kicked the droid fighter into multiple super battle droids. The Korun began punching several more super battle droids before activating his lightsaber.

"Macey boy!" called the Doctor as he joined his friend. "Am I glad to see you?"

"Likewise, Doctor," said Mace as he cut down more droids with the Doctor. Captain Fordo and his clones continued to reinforce the two Jedi Masters in their attack.

"Mace, did your fighter get shot down?" asked the Doctor.

"Crashed into is more of what I would call it," said Mace.

"So, you hacked into the systems of a droid fighter as you were falling?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Did you destroy a couple more on the way?"

"I did."

"Good man."

"Large wave of droids coming our way. Might want to take them out, don't you agree?" Mace's warning alerted the Doctor to a battalion of super battle droids heading in their general direction. Using their combined command over the Force, the Doctor and Mace sent the droids flying away like ragdolls.

The Doctor and Mace soon split off from Captain Fordo and his forces, taking the left flank while the clones pushed forward on the right. Together, the two greatest Masters of the Jedi Order fought side-by-side, Mace' Vaapad working brilliantly with the Doctor's Ataru Jar'Kai. The droids stood no chance whatsoever. If they gained a small advantage on one of the Masters, the other Master was there to make sure that they didn't exploit it. The Doctor had to admit that he rather enjoyed fighting alongside Mace Windu.

"This is fun, Macey boy!" shouted the Doctor over the constant fire. "We should do this more often!"

"Let's hope it isn't too often, Doctor!" called Mace, sporting a rare smile on his face.

The two Jedi Masters continued fighting the droids. Soon, several walking turrets appeared. The Doctor and Mace knew exactly what to do. They went into action. The Doctor dived headfirst into the throng, cutting down turrets left and right before they even had a remote chance to react to the Gallifreyan's movements. Mace stayed stationary, but was just as much a bane to the turrets as the Doctor. After all the turrets had been successfully destroyed, the Doctor and Mace reunited.

"You know what I just realized?" asked the Doctor. "This strategy is really strange."

"I agree," said Mace. "A massive invasion force, yet there's no attempt to take the Senate or the Temple."

"I thought they would have gone straight for 500 Republica by now," said the Doctor. "Unless...OH! I'M SLOW! I'm slow, but I work it out eventually!"

"What is it, Doctor?" asked Mace.

"I was right," said the Doctor. "Palpatine's their target! But they're not storming the Chancellor's home like I thought they might!"

"Then what?" asked Mace.

"They're using the army as a distraction! I'll bet you they sent a specialist in to capture Palpatine undetected! And I'll also bet that that specialist is Grievous!"

"We have to get to Palpatine before Grievous does!" cried Mace.

"Agreed," said the Doctor. "I'll go. You stay here and defend the flank. May the Force be with you."

"And you, Doctor," said Mace. The Doctor saw gunships flying overhead. He hopped into one and ordered the pilot to turn it around and take him to where he told them to go. The Doctor used his connection with Stass to find out where she was. He knew that she would stay with the Chancellor no matter what. He could sense her, but he could also sense that she was in danger.

"Gun it, pilot!" ordered the Doctor.

"Sir!" acknowledged the pilot.

The Doctor sensed death around Stass. Of the six-Jedi team he sensed that she and Shaak Ti had built, only three of them could still be felt through the Force. The Doctor could tell that Grievous was the one killing them. Only he could take on so many Jedi at once and live to tell about it. The Doctor had seen it before on Hypori. He had taken on six Jedi then, including Shaak Ti and the Doctor, and he had walked away from it relatively unscathed.

The Doctor sensed that they had arrived at their destination. Stass was here with Palpatine and Shaak Ti. The third Jedi he had sensed before could not be sensed anymore. Grievous had obviously killed that Jedi, but Stass and Shaak Ti were still alive, so the Doctor could still save them.

The gunship took some fire, so the Doctor decided to simply jump out instead of having the gunship land. He landed right in front of a Separatist shuttle just as Grievous was waltzing aboard. In front of him, Palpatine, Stass, and Shaak Ti could be seen being roughly pushed on board the ship, captured. Grievous turned at the sound of the Doctor's landing.

"Doctor!" he shouted. "At last, a worthy opponent! Prepare to die!" His two arms split into four, and he activated four separate lightsabers, each once belonging to a Jedi.

"Not this time, Grievous!" shouted the Doctor as he reached out with the Force to crush the good General. Grievous's chest nearly gave out, but the metal chestplate withstood the crushing force with which the Doctor struck. It only just did so, however, as Grievous collapsed into a coughing fit, his lungs damaged beyond repair. The shuttle lifted off, and the Doctor jumped after it. Unfortunately, it was too high off the ground, and the Doctor fell back down to the ground as the shuttle escaped into space, taking Palpatine, Stass, and Shaak Ti with it. He knew what he had to do.

He had to contact Obi-Wan and Anakin, then get in his own fighter and plan a rescue.

* * *

**Dun dun DUUUUUUUNNNNN! Well, it's Friday, folks, and that means chapter time! Anyway, this is actually the last chapter before the epilogue, which will be posted soon. If not tonight, then tomorrow morning definitely. After that, it's onto Episode III: Revenge of the Sith! That'll be pretty exciting!**

**Now that I've finished SW(SD), I find myself with a strange lack of daily-ish story writing. *insert advertisement about Subspace Emissary novelization* A few of you have okayed the idea, which means I'm probably going to end up doing it and posting it here for you to see. I'll be starting it soon-ish. Not this weekend, though, as I've got very important school projects and applications to work on. But soon. Very soon.**

**So, I finally got around to watching Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 2, "Into the Dalek," and I must say, I think I'm getting used to Capaldi's Doctor. I look at him in his outfit in the TARDIS console room, and I can say to myself, "That's the Doctor." That is, like, the coolest thing ever. And the episode was really neat and well-written, despite the fact that it had two writers. Sometimes, having two writers can be a bit jumbled and messy, but these two writers work really well together. There were dark moments in this episode. Really dark moments. Especially when the Doctor and the aforementioned Dalek in the title of the episode are speaking to each other at the end.**

**Doctor: Something along the lines of, "You're a good Dalek."**

**Dalek: "I am not a good Dalek. You are a good Dalek."**

**This, to me, harkens back to Eccleston's run as the Doctor in Series 1, specifically the episode, "Dalek." In it, the aforementioned Dalek tells the Ninth Doctor that "he would make a good Dalek." It seems now that he has become one. Interesting.**

**More stuff with that weird Missy chick with the crazy eyes. I think she's going to be the over-arcing story of Series 8. Maybe. Could also be the multiple-Capaldis thing. Probably both. I don't know.**

**What's more, I think they're going to make references to each of the past Doctors throughout the series. There were several references to the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in "Deep Breath," and a few possibly indirect references to the Ninth Doctor. I'm expecting some Eighth Doctor references in this next episode, Moffat. Better get on that.**

**Oh, by the way, Episode 3 (Not to be confused with Episode III) has Robin Hood in it. I am excite.**

**Anyway, that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends.**


	15. Recall

Epilogue: Recall

The Doctor was quick to contact Obi-Wan and Anakin, who were on a mission to Nelvaan. He would tell them what happened. He knew that Anakin would want to not only rescue his friend Palpatine, but also capture or kill Grievous.

He contacted R2, who beeped at the Doctor, asking what he was doing.

"I have an urgent message for Obi-Wan and Anakin, R2," said the Doctor. "Do you think you can patch me through to them?"

The little astromech whistled affirmatively, and the Doctor was soon speaking with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

"What is it, Doctor?" asked Anakin. "What's happened?"

"Coruscant is under siege, and General Grievous has taken Palpatine, as well as Master Allie and Master Shaak Ti," explain the Doctor. "We need you to rescue Palpatine. Get to Coruscant immediately. I will join you to rescue the Jedi."

"Understood, Doctor," said Obi-Wan. "We'll be there shortly."

The Doctor cut off the transmission, then rushed to his Eta-2 starfighter. He had been outfitted with a new astromech droid, called R3-K9, and he quite liked the droid. R3-K9 served him well, and he believed that the little droid would continue to do so as he journeyed into space to rescue Stass and Shaak Ti. The Doctor figured that they were still alive because of their status as Council members. Grievous would want to kill them eventually, but he would most certainly make a show of it all.

His fighter lifted off, and Coruscant's landscape disappeared behind him as he boarded one of the Republic Venator-class ships that was participating in the battle, which had now gone to space completely. He was soon joined by Obi-Wan and Anakin, who were in their own Eta-2's, Obi-Wan's a maroon and gray color, Anakin's a bright yellow. Together, the three Jedi flew out of the ship's hangar bay and into the space battle, gunning straight for Grievous's ship, the _Invisible Hand_. If they could capture Grievous and Count Dooku, if the Sith Lord was there, they could potentially end the war right here, in the space above Coruscant.

The Doctor only hoped and prayed as they flew headlong into the fray that they weren't too late to save Palpatine and the Jedi as well.

* * *

**Well, folks, that's it for Star Wars (Starring the Doctor): The Clone Wars! I hoped you enjoyed reading this story just as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is actually the longest volume in the series at 120 pages on my Google Drive document for this story. Next Friday, we start Star Wars (Starring the Doctor) Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and that's when everything changes.**

**User efhb1994 left a review asking for a story with the Twelfth Doctor. While I can say that the Twelfth Doctor does not appear in this story (he's sort of referenced in Episode V), I can't say that I won't write a story with him in it. I really like the Twelfth Doctor, and there's certainly a lot you could do with him. I just won't be doing anything with him right now. Not to say that it won't happen in the future. Just not right now.**

**In any case, thank you to everyone who followed, reviewed, or even just read the story. Your support and feedback mean a lot to me. I hope that all of you will join me again as we embark into Episode III. Some characters die (actually, a lot of them die), but we get some new characters to make up for that loss. *hint hint* Of all the volumes, Episode III has the most chapters (15, plus a prologue and an epilogue), meaning that it'll take the longest to post. However, the last few chapters are actually pretty short, so I may just clump them together in one posting. We'll see how it goes.**

**In any case, that about does it for this author's note. Again, thank you all for reading this part of the story, and I hope to see you again real soon. Until the next volume, my friends!**


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